It's Loud in Inkopolis
by allanarcher777
Summary: Despite coming from a big family of 1 brother and 9 other sisters, Lynn is like any other inkling. And her goal is to be the best turf War player in the world. This is her story to the top. (One/two-shot series. rated T for fear that action and battle scenes will be too intense for K plus)
1. Humble beginings pt1

**Hello everyone. I would like to welcome you to this new series of one-shots mixing together Splatoon and The Loud House. These 2 franchises are amazing and I feel there is untapped potential for crossovers that not only do I want to take advantage of, but I hope others do too. But before I start this little spectacle, I want to get a few things out of the way first.**

 **1\. All content belongs to their respective owners. Like Loud House belonging to Nickelodeon and Chris Savino. As well as Splatoon and all it's affiliating elements being property of Nintendo.**

 **2\. I am ignoring the rule with Inklings and form change at 14 years old thing. In this universe, all Inklings essentially have mastery of that ability at birth.**

 **3\. If you like this crossover between Loud House and Splatoon, please consider writing your own. I'd love to see what you can come up with.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **-allanarcher777**

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Chapter 1: Humble beginnings part 1

 _Inkopolis Square… A social hotspot Inkling culture. Filled with various shops, businesses, an arcade, café, and a TV station for the local news among other things. But if there was one thing that the squidizens gravitated to the most, it was Deca Tower. A major center point due to its state of the art Turf War coordination. Turf War was one of the major sports in the Inkling world. In fact, it was THE major sport! There wasn't a single Inkling that didn't enjoy the game in some way._

 _And today, another one was going to enter the ring…_

A pair of Inkling boys were hanging outside the Galleria strip mall. One had his tentacles styled in a bowl haircut with dark blue coloring. His eyes had the exact same color as well and were complimented by deep purple t-shirt and tan skin. His companion had green tentacles, pink eyes, and darker skin. In addition to his yellow baseball cap, he wore a matching sweatshirt to go along with it. The blue inkling sipped a smoothie as he was surfing the net on his phone.

Eventually, something caught his attention and he grabbed his friend's arm. "Hey, check this out!" He shoved his phone in his companion's face. The screen showed a blueprint of a pair of dualies. The other kid looked unamused.

"So? They just showed what the next weapon their making is."

"So? SO!? These bad boys are going to be cutting edge in performance and freshness! Just in time for the next season in the Battle League too!" As the blue one celebrated, his friend still looked disinterested. "Come on. Crack a smile." The smile did not come. The inkling finally lost his patience. "Fine. If these aren't going to be the greatest things since sliced bread, then may I be struck down where I stand!"

"INCOMING!" Instantly after the kid made his speech, a brown squid rocketed down and knocked him against the pavement. The inkling's friend smirked at the humorous misfortune as the poor squid groaned. The new arrival that crashed into him started to take humanoid form. The revealed themselves to be a girl with brown tentacle hair styled into a single pony tale. Her attire consisted of a red and white sports jersey with a big red number 1. Her shirt was matched well with her red shorts and black soccer cleats. She brushed herself off with an optimistic smile. "Sorry about that. I'm kind of in a rush."

"No problem." The crushed inkling moaned as he struggled back up. The 2 boys looked at the new arrival in bewilderment. The inkling in the yellow shirt clapped in amusement.

"Never seen someone Super-Jump so fast. In fact, never really seen you in the plaza. Who are you?" the pink eyed inkling asked. The girl grinned.

"I'm the next big star in the world of Turf War! But you can just call me…"

"LYNN LOUD JR.!" Another voice called out from above. The girl looked up to see another squid jumping towards them. When he landed, he revealed himself to be an adult in a blue-green shirt and brown jeans. He breathed heavily as Lynn shook her head.

"Dad, what took you so long?"

"Kiddo, I'm not exactly in the prime of my youth you know." Lynn Sr. argued. His daughter was not swayed.

"You have 11 kids, including me. Your stamina should be incredible." She retorted as she turned to Deca Tower. "Plus, I'm kind of excited. My first REAL Turf War!" She squealed before letting out a sigh. "Ever since they introduced it to me in gym class, I knew it was destiny for me to be a professional!" Lynn reminisced rather wistfully. At a young age, Lynn Loud showed an extreme love of all sports. Yet somehow, Turf War strangely went under her radar for years. Writing it off as some uninteresting pass time until it was introduced into school phy ed. programs .Ever since she fired that first shot and started swimming in the ink spread on the floor, her eyes were opened to her ultimate passion and she spent about a year training to hit the official scene.

Lynn gazed to the top of the tower and took a deep breath. "Well, it's now or never!" Lynn ran over to the building eager to start an exciting match that would hopefully blossom into a career. But before she could get through the inner circle, she was stopped by her father.

"Jr. Hold on a minute." Lynn groaned at her father's interruption.

"Dad, I'll be fine. Lisa says that the respawn technology has a 100% success rate. Not once has it ever gone wrong."

"I know that. Heck, I've been splat in a match first hand. I just wanted to give you something extra to start off with." Senior reassured as he reached behind him and pulled out a green and purple gun from behind him. Lynn was astounded with the present her father gave her.

"A… A standard Splattershot!?"

"I had some extra money in my pocket and I thought that you…" Lynn cut her father off with a hug while simultaneously swiping the weapon from his hands. Her dad hugged back as the other 2 inklings from before snuck a couple pictures and posted them on the internet.

"Hashtag 'father daughter moment'." One of them chuckled as he typed the caption in. Lynn Sr. wiped a tear from Jr.'s eye.

"Go out and have fun, squiddo!" Lynn nodded in response to her dad's support and ran through the tower doors. As she did, she missed the multitude of screens built into the walls tune into the local news. The screens displayed 2 girls in a fancy studio with another monitor behind them. One of them was Pearl. She was an Inkling in a white, sleeveless jacket with a golden zipper and pink leggings. A small white crown rested on top of her tentacle hair, which was also white with pink hues at the bottom.

The other girl was named Marina. A dark brown skinned Octoling as indicated with suction cups being on the outside of her tentacle hair, which was a blackish brown with green tips at the end. Her fashion choice was similar to Pearl's, except instead of a dress, she had a small black top and short skirt with bright green leggings. Pearl waved at the screen as the pair started their show.

"What up, everyone?"

"It's Off the Hook, coming live from Inkopolis Square." Pearl stretched her arms above her head and leaned side to side in her chair after Marina finished speaking.

"Alright, Marina. Show the folks at home the stages for Regular Class Battles."

"You got it!" Marina hopped over to a DJ turntable and fiddled with the records, displaying 2 locations on the TV behind them. Being Blackbelly Skatepark and Manta Maria. Marina paused and waited for Pearl to talk again. Pearl nodded and waved her hand.

"Alright. Now how about the Ranked Class?" Marina was puzzled at how quickly Pearl wanted to move the show along. Regardless, she shrugged it off and nodded. The next two stages were Kelp Dome and MakoMart. "And lastly, let's wrap it up with the League stages." Pearls quickly demanded. Marina raised an eyebrow and fiddled with the turntable one more time to show Inkblot Art Academy and The Reef. But as she did, she cleared her throat.

"Pearl, are you okay?" She asked calmly. Pearl shot a quick glance at her co-star and responded.

"Of course. Why do you ask?"

"Well normally you make a comment about one of the stages that I follow up on. But now you seem in kind of a rush to get through the show. Is something going on?" Marina questioned. Pearl bit her lip and looked at the ground. Eventually, she found the strength to talk and put on a brave face.

"Actually, yes Marina. There IS something going on. Or rather something that isn't."

"And what's that?"

"It's us being caught up in our work without having fun!" Pearl snapped as she forgot they were on the air. Pearl blushed from embarrassment and recoiled in her seat as she continued cautiously. "Come on, Marina. Just think about it. Sure we have our own TV show and have a killer band, but how long has it been since we were actually in a battle ourselves? Weeks? Months?" She argued. Marina pondered her friend's reasoning for a moment and nodded.

"Huh. I guess you have a point."

"Exactly. That's why I wanted to end todays show early. I want to go have some fun with my dualies!" Pearl squealed. Marina grinned and giggled.

"You know what? You're right! After this, I'm grabbing my Slosher and tagging along!" Pearl gave a thumbs up and grinned.

"Well, you heard it hear first everybody. Marina and I are going to go battling today!"

"If you are lucky, we might be in your match. But until then…" Marina paused as she pushed her turntable to the side and Pearl got out of her chair. The pair then did a fancy pose towards the camera as they signed off with their catchphrase. "Don't get cooked…"

"…Stay Off the Hook!" And with that, the camera turned off and the pair headed out. Meanwhile, back in Deca Tower, Lynn was walking through the halls around other people until she found a computer. She tapped the screen and an automated voice rang out.

"Welcome to the match registry system. Please select an option." Lynn continued to tap the screen and the system continued. "You have chosen to create a new battle ID. Please pull out your phone and open the Splatnet App." Lynn did exactly that and her phone soon created a profile for her to use. She used a picture of herself for the profile picture and the ID indicated her starting rank of level 1. "Profile has been created. Ranked Battle may only be selected one you reach level 10 or higher status. Would you like to start a Regular Class battle now?" Lynn quickly hit yes on the screen and a pipe opened to her right.

"You have been registered for a match, please enter the tube and you will placed on a team." Lynn turned into a squid and jumped inside the pipe. She found herself flushed with deep blue ink and she changed her color to match it on reflex. Excitement bubbled up inside her as she approached a light.

"This is it! Today is where it all starts!"

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 **And so it all begins. I guess it's kind of obvious who 2 of the people in Lynn's match are going to be. But who ELSE do you think will pop up? Only time will tell as I write Part 2. Until then...**

 _ **Stay fresh!**_


	2. Humble beginings pt2

**Welcome to part 2 of this story's first chapter. Or, episode I guess is a better term. Now Lynn is entering her first real Turf War. But she may be greeted with a few familiar faces, as implied in the first part. Now, lets get to one of the flagship attractions of Splatoon... THE ACTION PACKED BATTLES!**

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Chapter 2: Humble beginnings part 2

Lynn emerged from the Spawn Point and looked out over the arena in front of her. Various caved in floors and halfpipes surrounded her. Inside one of them, she spotted a skateboard of all things. She glanced to her left and saw a center tower. Instantly, she knew where she was. "Blackbelly Skatepark. Good thing I already have experience with this place." Lynn thought out loud as she reminisced on when she took part in an extreme bike riding tournament and performed a few tricks to take home another trophy for her collection. She took a deep breath and sighed. "Good times."

Suddenly, Lynn heard some noise from behind her like someone else was coming from the spawn point. She turned and saw another squid take humanoid form. The Inkling had an oval head and blue tentacle hair in small pigtails and held down by a pink helmet. Her yellow tank top had a big purple 'P' on it that complemented her purple shorts. She lugged a giant splattling gun hooked up to a jug of blue ink out from the spawn point as well. The white and purple rhinestones indicating it was the 'deco' model. The inkling girl saw Lynn and gasped. "Lynn?"

"Polly?" Lynn smiled as the 2 friends fist bumped. Polly grinned and crossed her arms giving a rather proud and smug look.

"So, you finally decided to join the party?" Lynn gripped her Splattershot with both hands and pretended to take aim at the enemy spawn.

"Join the party? I'm gonna be the life of it!" She bragged. It was then that 2 more inklings emerged from behind them and took humanoid form. One was an olive skin boy who wore a blue and white baseball t-shirt with matching hat. He held a Carbon Roller over his shoulder. The other was another boy with a black fedora and white cycling shirt with pink polka dots. In his hands, he held a long, silver E-liter 4-k charger with a black scope attached to it. Polly nudged Lynn's shoulder and pointed to the first boy.

"Hey, Lynn. Isn't that the boy you have a crush…?" Lynn retaliated by punching her friend's arm as she blushed. Francisco saw the girls and waved. Lynn tried to put on a tough facade as he approached.

"Hey, Lynn. Long time no see."

"Uh, hi Francisco. Ready to rock?" Lynn asked with all the confidence she could summon. But the pair was interrupted by the inkling with the E-liter.

"Looks more like he's ready to ROLL!" He quipped referring to Francisco's weapon. The other 3 just looked at him with an expression of disapproval. The kid just gave an innocent smile in response. "My name is Tim. I'm just hear to play with my new charger." He chirped. Before his peers could say anything, a new voice yelled from across the skate park.

"YO YO YO! Off the Hook is in the house!" All 4 teammates looked into the distance and saw Pearl and Marina with orange highlights in their tentacles. Alongside them were 2 other Inklings. One was a boy with messy tentacle hair and a green t-shirt. He looked like he was oozing with confidence as he twirled his N-Zap 85' in his hand, like he knew he was going to win without even trying. The other was a girl with her hair wrapped into a single braid behind her head and a single blue bow inside of it. She posed playfully with her Splat Brella complimenting her yellow shirt and blue skirt. Lynn was shocked by the turn of events that unfolded around her.

"Off the Hook!? Does this mean we are on TV or something?" Lynn questioned a little skeptical. Polly giggled with glee at the thought.

"All the more reason to bring the pain!" She cheered. Following that, a pair of white and gray cats showed up, one big and one small. The big one was carrying a lap top that he opened up to display the whole map and both teams, including their weapons.

 **BLUE TEAM**

 _Lynn: Splattershot_

 _Polly: Heavy Splattling Deco_

 _Francisco: Carbon Roller_

 _Tim: E-liter 4k scope_

 **ORANGE TEAM**

 _Pearl: Dapple Dualies_

 _Marina: Slosher_

 _Chandler: N-Zap 85'_

 _Jordan (G): Spalt Brella_

As the match was about to begin, Lynn and Pearl each gathered their teammates around them and each started to give a pep talk. "Alright guys, I'm not going to sugar coat it. Those guys are…"

"…looking pretty tough. But luckily for us, I have a plan. We'll each take a path and…"

"…go absolutely crazy. They'll be confused since they expect us to look coordinated. But if we go…"

"…full renegade psycho, we'll catch them by surprise! So just go wild. And if you see…"

"…anyone get in your way…"

"…They."

"Go."

"SPLAT!" They both lectured. The last word being shouted so loudly everyone on both sides heard them. After that, both teams looked out towards the battlefield and got ready to compete. In a few tense seconds, an air horn went off and everything got completely chaotic. Splashes of blue and orange went flying across the pavement and coated the previously clean ground. Among the first few seconds, Lynn decided to go straight for the enemy spawn and paint everything she could blue.

When she arrived, she ran into Jordan as she just threw a sprinkler into the center field. Lynn grunted as she took aim and fired. Jordan saw a few blots fly in front of her and she tried to open her brella to shield her from the attack. But she wasn't fast enough and soon found herself burst in a sea of blue. Lynn chuckled as she saw Jordan's fly back to her spawn. "Hope Lincoln doesn't have a problem with that!"

"Who cares what Larry thinks? You should be more concerned with yourself, scrub!" A voice rang out. Before Lynn could turn to see who spoke out, she felt a sharp pain in her back. It built up until she exploded and a puddle of orange was left behind. As she floated back to her spawn, she managed to catch a glimpse of who got her.

'Hey… Isn't that Chandler? That jerk that used my bro to get free stuff?' If Lynn still had a physical body at that moment, her blood would be boiling. 'Oh, he is going DOWN!' As Lynn started to respawn, chaos continued to unfold on the rest of the area. Marina started to make her way to the center field after hurling some ink over a wall. But as soon as she stepped around the corner, she got hit with a few ink bullets that forced her back behind her cover. As she sat in the corner cleaning the blue goop off her, she heard the shooter's maniacal battle cry.

"AHHH HA HA! They call me Polly Pain for a reason!" The girl screamed as she continued to blast everything in front of her from a high ledge. Marina cowered in fear as Pearl rolled beside her, breathing heavily. The 2 super stars looked at each other and Pearl groaned in pure exhaustion. Marina huffed and decided to talk.

"The crazy girl with the splattling?"

"No, the dude with the Carbon Roller. He's been chasing me non stop, but I threw him off by making a fake trail." Pearl explained. The pair was then cut short when they heard a profound 'fwoosh' and a dark blue cloud formed in the sky. The cloud then released tiny droplets of ink of the same color. The Inkling face palmed at the sight. "I guess I should have got him before we got his special weapon. If only we had ours."

Marina thought for a moment and got an idea. "Provoke that girl to fire at you and clean up her mess. I'll hurl ink over the wall. Hopefully we can build up enough energy to use our specials."

"Worth a shot." Pearl reasoned as she stepped out from behind the wall. "Hey, derby girl! You talk tough, but I doubt you could hit a semi with aim like yours!" She taunted. Polly heard this and opened fire as Pearl dodged and sprayed the ground. Marina frantically shoveled ink over her cover to try and cover the ground. Both kept trying to cover more and more turf until eventually, they felt their weapons react and power flowed through them. They grinned and high-fived as their tentacle hair glowed a bright orange. "Alright, Marina. Let's show them what Off the Hook is capable of!"

Meanwhile, Lynn had respawned and was looking for turf to cover. As well as Chandler, to try and get some revenge for being splat. "I know he's around here somewhere." She thought aloud. Suddenly, she heard a rapid series of 'booms' in the distance. Followed by a few rockets and suction bombs flying though the air. Lynn screamed as she turned into a squid and swam forward. Explosions of orange ink sprung up one after the other, splatting Polly and Francisco in the process. As they exploded, Pearl felt so delighted and proud she broke out into a rap.

"Faces blush, a rush of ink! Bombs explode, no time to think! When I rush, enemies go hush! Because they all fear the Bomb Rush Blush!" When Pearl finished, Marina shot her a look of complete disapproval. Pearl looked confused to her friend's reaction.

"What?"

"Did you really have to steal Callie's song?"

"Oh, she isn't the kind of squid to sue over it. Plus, it was a golden opportunity I couldn't waste." She whined. Lynn came out of the ink and saw orange completely surround her. She panted from exhaustion and started to cover it back up with blue again. As she tried to clean up the mess, she heard the sound of enemy fire behind. She whipped around to see a large pool of orange behind her. She raised an eyebrow in confusion, but her emotion soon changed to alarm when she heard a series of rapid beeps behind her.

SPLOOSH!

Lynn screamed as she was flung backward into the orange ink by a suction bomb. She felt like she was sinking into it like quick sand. She looked up to see Chandler staring down and pointing his weapon at her face. "Let me guess. A newbie trying to climb the ladder, huh? Well let me tell you a secret." He leaned in close and whispered into her ear. "There are 2 types of people in the world. Sharks and guppies. Guppies like you don't belong here." He mocked.

Lynn Loud was normally not the type of girl to lie down and give up. And this bullies words were no different, only motivating her to fight harder as she struggled to get back up. She tried to fire back, but nothing came out of her Splattershot since she had used her ink covering the ground. "Ha, don't even need to use my special today. Guess I'll make this quick." Lynn closed her eyes as she braced for Chandler to take her out again.

Lynn felt a huge blast hit her, but felt no pain from it. She opened her eyes in time to see Chandler's little ghost float away to his spawn point. As she got up in the now blue ink, she heard someone cheering in triumph from above. Her gaze shifted up to see Tim standing on the center tower, laughing maniacally. "I did it. I did it! GET SNIPED, SON!" Lynn found a large, open smile cross her face as she gave her teammate a thumbs up for the save.

Just then, a siren went off and was followed by an automated voice like the one at Deca Tower's machines. "One minute left. Now or never!" Lynn felt herself energized with sheer determination alone as she ran off and tried to cover all the turf she and her team could. She sprayed wildly across the ground and saw Marina trying to cover more turf. Her hair started to glow again and she pulled out two missile canons. Lynn smirked and took aim.

"Sorry, nothing personal." Lynn quipped as she took Marina out before she could fire a single rocket. Lynn felt power rise up around her, and her hair started to glow. "Oh, yeah! This feels awesome!" She cheered. Suddenly, she heard a scream.

"Get away from me. Go and cover some more ground or something." Lynn recognized the voice and gasped.

"Francisco!" Lynn turned into a squid and jumped into the air. As she soared over to her crush's side, she turned humanoid again and coated herself in a shell of ink. She gritted her teeth as she saw him surrounded by enemies, including Chandler. As she rocketed downward, she could barely hear a voice countdown the end of the game.

"5… 4… 3… 2… 1…"

 **SPLOOSH!**

Lynn crashed down just as time ran out and left a large pool of blue ink where she landed. She turned and saw Francisco covered in blue along with their rivals. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I think so. That was awesome!" He cheered. Lynn smiled and a small blush formed on her cheeks. Sadly, Chandler came over and ruined the moment.

"Not bad for a little shrimp. But you still lost!" Marina overheard the conversation and cleared her throat.

"Actually, nothing is set in stone until Judd and Lil' Judd give a clean verdict." She claimed. As if on cue, the very same cats walked over and looked over the expansive landscape. All the blotches of blue and orange were captivating. The cats looked at the scene, and then to each other, then they nodded. Judd and Lil' Judd reached behind them and gripped a small flag from behind their backs.

They revealed the color of the flags to be blue.

Everyone gasped in shock and soon Lynn and her entire team cheered victoriously. Lynn caught Francisco in a hug for a brief moment before she realized what she was doing and let go, still happy of course. Chandler was incredibly upset about the turn of events. "There is no way that 'guppy' won! I demand to see the numbers!" The cats complied with Chandlers demand and turned their laptop so everyone could see. The orange team had covered about 45.4 percent of the skate park. The blue team had 45.5.

Needless to say, Chandler was not pleased. In a silent huff, he went back to his spawn point and used it to go back to Deca Tower. Jordan followed suit with a calm expression of acceptance over the results. Pearl and Marina looked at Lynn and the pair smiled. Pearl walked over to Lynn and chuckled. "You got skill. I've never seen a newbie with talent like that." Marina nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, that Splashdown was epic! What's your name?"

"Lynn Loud." She responded with pride. Pearl crossed her arms and smirked.

"Well when you reach level 10, look me and Marina up. We'd love to have a teammate like you!" She claimed. With that, the super stars went over to the spawn point and left. As Lynn and her team went back to their spawn to go back to Inkopolis Square, a smile crossed her face over the pride that she won her first match ever. When they all returned, Lynn and her friends went their separate ways as Lynn scanned her phone with the machined to collect her prize money. But compared to the glory and thrill of the game, it was just a small bonus to her.

"Man, this is the best day ever! I can't wait to tell everyone about today." She celebrated as she walked out of the tower. As she walked out the sliding doors, she was suddenly caught in a massive dogpile like hug from several people. She could barely hear what they were saying since they all spoke at once.

"We're so proud of you!"

"That was literally amazing!"

"You know how to make a SPLASH! Ha ha."

"Teach me how to do stuff like that!" When Lynn managed to recover, she saw the people that were smothering her where her whole family. She dusted herself off, she looked at them pleasantly surprised.

"You saw my match?" Luna and Lucy stepped forward and explained.

"The whole thing was on TV because Off the Hook was part of the match, dude!" Luna cheered.

"Even though I prefer to sit in the dark and read, even I had to see this with my own eyes. You were spectacular." Lucy congratulated in a monotone voice. Despite how quiet she was, a small grin was on her face, indicating her happiness. Lynn laughed and messed with Lucy's black tentacle hair.

"Thanks, Luce. But this is just the begging." She stated as she looked to the bright sky. "I'm going to be the best. And have a fun time doing it!"

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 **Ah, I feel real happy to have made this. Now, in addition to hoping for a review and feed back, I also hope that more people try out this AU. I see a little bit of fan art combining these two worlds and I'm surprised to see actual stories so scarce. If your a fan of either, or both franchises, I seriously recommend giving a crossover between these 2 a shot. It doesn't even have to be in the same style as mine, I just don't want to hog the gold in this mine all to myself.**

 **See you next time!**

 **P.S. If you can guess the inside joke with a certain character before the next upload, you get a shout out!**


	3. You shoes you lose

**Hello readers. Sorry I took so long to upload. But I had a little trouble thinking of how some of these conflicts and plots will roll out and get resolved. Nevertheless, I prevailed. Here is the next episode. And the first to have a problem resolved in a single outing.**

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Chapter 3: You shoes you lose.

The sun rose gently over the Loud family residence on Franklin Avenue. Despite the namesake of the house, the neighborhood was surprisingly quiet. The reason for this silence was because the family had decided to sleep in and get extra rest for their activities the following day. However, Lynn was an early bird and did the opposite, having gone to bed sooner and got up earlier. When she awoke, she quickly rushed outside and went over to the garage, which had a basketball hoop over the door. She spit into her hands and rubbed them together. "All right, time for my morning warm-up."

Lynn jumped up to the steel bars holding the hoop above the garage door and turned into a squid. Her tentacles wrapped around the bars and she started to lift herself up and down like she was using a pullup bar. Rhythmically increasing her pace over time. However, her workout was stopped when she heard a shrill scream. "AHHHH! Giant spider!" The voice rang out. Before Lynn could react, she felt herself pelted with several rocks that made her lose her grip.

Lynn looked up and saw Leni with a bunch of stones in her hands and her white sunglasses over her eyes. Lynn turned humanoid again and lifted them off her sister's face. "Leni, chill! It's just me, not a spider." She reassured. The teen calmed down and looked a little guilty.

"OMG! Sorry, Lynn. Why were you climbing on the garage?"

"I was doing pullups in my squid form. Or as I call them 'squid-ups'." She explained. "I feel that training my tentacles will help me swim in my ink better." Lynn took a closer look at her older sister and saw that over the shoulder of her seafoam green dress, she saw a paper bag. "What do you have there?" She asked. Leni perked up and reached into the bag.

"Oh, thanks for reminding me. I wanted to give you the best thing since online fashion blogs!" When her hand came out of the bag, she was holding a pair of red rubber boots. They had such a gloss that the sunlight reflected off of them. "I call them 'Crimson Splashers'. I made them to be both stylish and Turf War practical. And I wanted you to be the first girl in the world to wear them." She stated proudly as the boots were handed to Lynn.

"Wow. Thanks, Leni."

"You're welcome. I'd love to cheer you on, but the mall has a 2 for 1 sale on nail polish. See ya!" The sisters waved goodbye and Lynn stuffed the boots in a backpack as she hustled over to Inkopolis Square. Eventually, she arrived in the city center and went inside Deca Tower. She walked through the crowd of other cephalopods and went to the registration terminal. Tapping away on the screen, she found herself locked in for a match at Piranha Pit. As she walked over to the transport pipe, she reached into her backpack and pulled out the Crimson Splashers.

"Alright Leni, let's see how well these bad boys do on the field." With that, she switched off her regular soccer cleats and put on the boots instead. As she slipped the second boot on, she jumped through the tub and changed her color to match the green ink that surrounded her. When she emerged, she saw the arena in front of her. The various gray gravel and conveyor belts all gave an industrial feel on the island they were on in the quarry. She heard her teammates appear behind her and she turned to see them, hoping to see a familiar face again. But none of them were people she knew.

She looked over to the rival spawn point and didn't see anyone over there either. She smirked as she gripped her Splattershot 'Nothing like battling with all new faces to build a reputation.' She thought to herself. Judd and Lil' Judd arrived with a laptop and brought up the match stats.

 **GREEN TEAM**

 _Lynn: Splattershot_

 _Josh: L3 Nozzelnose_

 _Trisha: Custom Splattershot Jr._

 _Ernie: Sloshing Machine_

 **PURPLE TEAM**

 _Ceph: Rapid Blaster_

 _Morgan: Undercover Sorella Brella_

 _Max: Custom Jet Squelcher_

 _Sydney: Splat Dualies_

Lynn bent her knees and readied herself to take off as soon as the starting siren wailed. All the competitors had fierce, competitive looks on their faces as the air grew tense. Lynn wrapped a finger over the weapon's trigger as she got anxious. Then, in an instant, the siren wailed and everyone charged out. However, Lynn didn't have a good start like everyone else.

When she lunged forward, she felt a sudden lack of friction hurtle her down on to the ground. She groaned as she picked herself up. She tried to keep running, but found herself sliding on the ground like ice. Frustrated and dizzy at her newfound clumsiness, she sat down and shook her head to pull herself together. She heard one of her teammates call out to her.

"Hey, what's the holdup?" Yelled Ernie, the boy with the sloshing machine.

"Sorry! On my way." Lynn yelled as she turned into a squid and decided to change her strategy to hide in her team's ink and catch enemies off guard. She swam silently and saw the enemy using the Splat Dualies just spraying the ground casually. Lynn's eyes narrowed as she inched closer until she felt she was in optimal range. Ever slowly closing in until finally, she jumped out and opened fire.

Her target was unable to react as she soon got splatted by the barrage of ink bullets. Lynn laughed at her victory. "Booyah! Clean knockout!" She continued to chuckle as she tried to walk off to find more places and people to ink. Yet something stopped her from moving. Almost like her feet were encased in concrete. She looked down and saw that the boots she was wearing were slipping so deep into the ink they anchored her in place. "Oh, come on! Let go of me you stupid…"

"PAYBACK!" Lynn looked up to see the same girl she splatted rushing at her with her dualies. Unable to run, Lynn took aim with her gun and tried to shoot her aggressor in self defense. But Sydney dodged out of the way and caught her with a barrage that made her combust. Lynn's ghost floated back to her spawn point and she regenerated with an angry expression. She shot a nasty look at her feet and groaned.

"Stupid boots. What did Leni make you with?" She spat in disgust. She tried to run off back into the action, but comically slipped backward and fell into the water below. Panic shot through Lynn instantly as she tried to claw back up to the surface. She wasn't afraid of dying since she was aware the respawn technology would save her. But the large amount of water submerging her inky body made it impossible to stay afloat. She sank downward and felt herself fill up with water and get splatted from the pressure.

Lynn respawned again even angrier than before as she yelled in rage. "Are you serious!?" She screamed as she turned into a squid and tried to continue battling. She saw another enemy carrying the Undercover Sorella Brella. She tried turning into a humanoid to fire at them, but instantly their hair started to glow and they became enclosed in a baller. Lynn panicked and tried to swim away as a squid, but was cut off by a stream of purple.

The baller filled up and started to combust and Lynn panicked and tried to jump away. She actually managed to leap out, but still got blown away into a patch of ground further away. When she lifted her face out of the purple ink, she saw a patch of light growing brighter on the ground. Her eyes narrowed as she heard it beeping. "Dang it." She moaned as the Ink Mine exploded n front of her face and splatting her again.

Try as Lynn might, the Crimson Splashers kept getting in her way either by making her slip or get stuck in ink regardless of the color. This went on for the entire match until finally the ending siren went off. When everyone looked at how the only green was within a few meters of the green team's spawn, no one was surprised when the Judds chose Purple as the winner. As the purple team cheered, Lynn felt a bunch of angry glares piercing the back of her head. But the anger they felt towards Lynn was nothing compared to her own.

After arriving back in the town and collecting her battle rewards for participation. Lynn practically ripped the red boots off her feet and put her regular soccer cleats back on. She stomped out of Deca Tower and groaned. "Thanks a lot, Leni. I looked like a complete idiot because of these shoes. When I see her again, I'm telling her exactly what I feel about these things." She ranted to herself as she stuffed the Crimson Splashers in her backpack again. Lynn walked out into the plaza and as fate would have it, she saw Leni with a bunch of other inklings shopping at the Galleria with a large number of bags in their possession. Her brow furrowed as she went straight for her sister's group.

Leni laughed as she walked with her friends towards the shirt boutique. "This is totes amazing, I can't believe Jelfonzo would be right about me being so fresh with both summer AND winter color shades." Her friends laughed with glee.

"Yeah. And his accent is so cute too!" One of them chimed in. Leni's eyes drifted across the street and she saw Lynn walking towards her. She smiled and waved excitedly.

"Hi, Lynn!" Lynn rushed over and was only a couple inches away from her sister.

"Leni, I need to…"

"Wait, before you say anything. I just want to say thanks." Leni said sweetly, completely cutting Lynn off as she continued. "I tried my absolute best when making them. Especially since it was my first time ever making shoes at all. And I'm glad you've been so supportive with them." Lynn's anger from before started to fade and replace with a sense of sorrow. "If you had rejected the Crimson Splashers, I would have felt horrible. I would've questioned everything I knew about fashion and probably never use a sewing machine again!" Leni practically screamed.

Lynn felt a knot form in her stomach over Leni's heartfelt claim. She didn't know how to respond. Leni saw her sister's expression and became concerned. "Oh, Lynn. Are you ok?" Lynn stammered for a moment as she thought of a reply.

"Uh, yeah, fine. I just wanted to say thanks for the boots. They were really comfortable." She lied. Leni smiled and bent down as she gave her little sister a kiss on the forehead.

"You're the sweetest squid ever." She looked up and gasped at something. "O.M. Gosh! Headspace is having a 60 percent off sale. That's almost half off! Come on, girls." Lynn waved with a nervous smile as her sister and her friends went off into the next store. When they were out of earshot, Lynn groaned in defeat.

"I can't do it. She's too sensitive." She complained. Suddenly, she felt a weird sensation as her stomach rumbled. She turned around and saw a prawn man running a food truck. "Maybe some lunch will make me feel better." She reasoned. Lynn walked over to the truck in a slump and examined the menu. "I think I'll have a Crusty Seanwhich and an Ink-Shoe Grape please." The man nodded in response to Lynn's order and started rummaging around his kitchen to prepare the meal.

As he cooked, a bearded, old Inkling man wearing a navy blue captain's hat and a raggedy poncho with a couple military medals. He hobbled over bug eyed behind Lynn and waited his turn. "First time at the Crust Bucket, squiddo?" He asked. Lynn turned to the man and nodded weakly.

"Yeah."

"What's the matter? Someone as young as you should be excited to try new things." The old man asked. The prawn came back to the counter with a drink and a food item that looked like a hotdog, but with a tempura shrimp in the bun instead of a sausage. Lynn sighed as she picked them up and handed her payment to the vendor.

"I'm kind of dealing with some personal problems right now, ok?"

"Well if you're feeling down, you could always talk about it." Lynn shot the old man a cautious look and he chuckled in response. "Heh, not necessarily with me. It can be parents or a best friend or something." Lynn shrugged and speed walked away to a table as the man began to place an order. Lynn found a good place to sit down and started chomping away at her lunch. As she did, she tried running through different scenarios about how to confront Leni. But each one she thought about ended in tears, anger, and ridicule. She growled to herself and started to drink the Ink Shoe Grape and sucked it through the straw so intensely that it was empty in a matter of seconds. Without even looking, she threw the cup through the air assuming it would land in a trash bin.

But instead, it hit another Inkling in the head. "Ow. HEY!" Lynn looked up in the direction of the shout and saw a tall Inkling girl with blonde tentacle hair, a sky blue tank top, and brown cargo shorts. Lynn squeaked when she saw the angry Inkling was her older sister, Lori.

"Whoops. Sorry sis. Didn't see you there." Lori stomped over to the young jock in a huff.

"You better have a better excuse than that if you don't want me to literally turn you into a living squid ring!" Lori roared. Lynn's face had one of minor fear for a brief moment. But it shifted into am expression of misery and disappointment.

"Know what? Forget it. If you are gonna do something, just do it now. Can't be worse than what I'm going through already." Lori raised an eyebrow at Lynn's depressing reply.

"And why are you so upset? Did you lose a match or something?" Lynn paused and thought back to the old man's advice about talking about problems. She looked at Lori again and after a moment's hesitation, she decided to speak.

"Yeah, but that's not the whole thing." Lynn reached into her backpack and pulled out the Crimson Splashers. "See, Leni made these boots for me to wear to my Turf War matches. But they SUCK!" She groaned. "When I wear them, I get stuck in ink regardless of team color. Worse than that, I slip on anything that isn't covered, including the spawn point." As Lynn lamented to her older sister, Lori's expression from anger and annoyance to a neutral one. Simply listening to her little sister's problem. "I was about to drop the bomb on Leni, but she was so happy that I was wearing them. And I chickened out. I can't wear these things when they mess me up so bad, but if I ditch them I'll break Leni's heart." When she finished complaining, Lynn took another bite of her Seanwich.

Lori nodded in understanding and rubbed her chin. "Mmm hmm. Yeah, you should literally tell her the truth." She bluntly stated. Lynn nearly choked on her food in response and struggled to swallow it. When it finally went down her throat and gasped for air.

"Were you even listening to the problem!?"

"I was. And I have more than enough experience to know that just sitting on your tentacles and not taking action only makes problems like this worse." Lori gave a soft smile and put a hand on Lynn's shoulder. "Leni won't change her opinion of you over some shoes. Especially if your delivery is on point. Just go find her, calmly tell her why you don't like the shoes, and everything will be fine." Lynn pondered the idea for a bit.

"Are you sure?"

"100 percent." Lynn took a deep breath and stood up.

"OK. I'll go talk to her." With that, Lynn put the boots in her backpack, walked off, and proceeded to go home to confront Leni. But as she left, the old man from before walked over to the table and sat down beside Lori. The 2 stared at the inkling as she walked down the street. The man chuckled.

"So that was your sister?"

"One of them, yeah. She's headstrong and obnoxious, but really nice when you get to know her."

"A real softie when it comes to family. Kind of like you, Agent 3." Lori's eyes snapped open as she flung her hand over the man's mouth.

"CAP'N CUTTLEFISH! Don't call me that in public!" She screamed. Cuttlefish laughed.

"Oh, come on now. Ain't no one listening. Besides, you should worry more about how your little sweet heart is actually an…" Lori turned into a squid and had 6 of her 10 limbs cover Cap'n Cuttlefish's mouth again.

"Will you please stop!?" She begged as the Cap'n tried to repress his muffled laughter.

As the afternoon rolled around, Lynn had made her way back home and walked inside the Loud family residence. It was as the name suggested, loud with various members of the family doing their various activities and in some cases arguing. But it didn't phase Lynn as she took a deep breath and went upstairs and turned towards Lori and Leni's room. "I seriously hope this works." She muttered to herself before opening the door.

When Lynn looked inside the room, she saw Leni in the form of a platinum blonde squid, the same color as her hair, with all of her tentacles trying to perform multiple tasks at once. She tried to knit a sweater with 2, run a sewing machine with 4, and tried to decide on various color samples with the remaining 4. Her eyes shifted over and saw Lynn. "Oh, hey sis!"

"Leni. We need to talk." Leni blinked and dropped all the things she was doing and turned into a humanoid form. Lynn took a deep breath and pulled out the Crimson Splashers. "The boots you gave me today look really cool." Lynn began, trying to soften the blow from her confession. "But when I went into a Turf War with them, I totally bombed. I kept slipping on dry ground and getting stuck in all the ink. Even if it was my team's color." Leni gave a small frown and her eyes gave off a small aura of disappointment as Lynn finished. "I really appreciate the sentiment, I really do. But I just can't wear them anymore. I'm sorry."

Lynn looked down at the ground and placed the footwear in her sister's hands. There was a brief silence that made the moment a little awkward between the siblings. But after a few seconds, Leni shrugged and gave a neutral expression. "OK." She calmly stated. Lynn was surprised at how calm Leni took the bad news and stuttered for a moment.

"OK? You're not upset?"

"Of course not. I totes understand if you don't want to wear the Crimson Splashers. And if there is something wrong with them, then I should fix them before I try and get them on store shelves." Leni chuckled. "If you hadn't said anything, it would have been worse than white shoes after Labor Day." Lynn smiled and sighed in relief over how smoothly the situation went.

"No prob, Leni. I'm just glad you aren't upset." Leni waved her hand in the air

"Pssh. Even if I was, the Splashers aren't even my main project." Lynn raised an eyebrow in response to the pride filled comment.

"And what would that be?" Leni smiled as she went over to her closet and opened the door to reveal a mannequin wearing a deep blue bikini. Leni got starry eyed as she started taken measurments with a tape measurer.

"When I'm finished. This swimsuit will be the freshest thing any Inkling girl can bring to the beach. They'll be diving so deep into the water without strain they'll find all sorts of treasure and jewelry to match it." She giggled as Lynn stared at her sister. It was then Lincoln came walking behind Lynn and noticed Leni working on the swimsuit.

"Should we remind her Inklings like us can't swim in water?" He asked nervously. Lynn grinned and shook her head.

"Nah. There are people like jellyfish who can use it. Plus, I want to see how long it takes for her to figure it out on her own." She snickered as Leni giggled happily.

* * *

 **And thus another adventure is documented in this collection. I hope that you enjoyed this one too. Also, were you surprised about Lori being Agent 3? This story ain't delving into Single Player Campaign matters, but I couldn't help myself with dropping some lore. Hope you enjoyed, and see you next time.**


	4. Grizzly work pt1

**Hello, readers. Before I begin, I would like to give a very special shoutout to SuperDimentio77.**

 **Chances are you already know who this guy is. But if you don't, he is the author of LouderTale. And if the amount of reviews it has is anything to goes off of, he is kind of a big celebrity among fanfic writers! I'm honored that he read this story and reviewed it. And if you're reading this dude... Thanks for the morale boost!**

 **Now that that's out of the way, let's start the next story in the collection!**

* * *

Chapter 4: Grizzly work pt 1

"Why was the chef waiting so long for the customer to order off the menu? Cause he needed more time to _ink_! HA HA HA! Get it?" Laughed Luan Loud as she finished telling another joke to Lana and Lola, the two twins of the family. Both the pageant queen and handy girl groaned in response. Lola in particular was about ready to jump off the sofa and knock her sister out.

"Why are you making us listen to your comedy routine again?" She asked in a frustrated tone.

"Because I want to _sea_ if I'm on point with my routine. I have an _inkling_ that other squids your age will like it." She explained and joked at the same time. Lola grinded her teeth together and her face turned red. "Woah. I know what you're thinking of doing, and you shouldn't try it. If you do, I'll tell Mom and Dad. Then you are gonna be _fresh_ out of luck!" Luan laughed. Lola snapped upon hearing that last pun as she leaped off the couch and started to wrestle her sister to the ground, grabbing the large tentacle that made her pony tail and yanking it as she pinned Luan to the floor.

Before the confrontation escalated to a full on brawl, however, Lynn slammed the door open and stunned all 3 of the girls. They gasped as they saw Lynn looking rather overwhelmed. Bags formed under her eyes, a bruise was on one of her cheeks, and she looked like she was thrown in a dumpster as she was covered in stains and had flies surrounding her. Without saying a word, she simply walked over to the couch and paused before turning into a squid and falling face first into the cushion beside Lana. The trio exchanged looks before Luan decided to break the ice.

"You look like you've been… busy."

"Busy? She looks like she got hit by a truck." Lola replied. Lynn barely found the strength to turn herself over and look at them. Her eyes as a squid looked like she was utterly defeated.

"I've been running around all day to try and scrape together some extra cash." She explained. Lana seemed the most curious of the three as she leaned closer to her big sister.

"Extra cash for what?" The young tyke asked. Lynn responded by pulling out a page torn from a magazine advertising various gear for Turf Wars. But one item stood out as it was circled multiple times with a red marker. That being a pair of dualies with a black, white, and Choco brown color scheme. "Splat Dualies by Enperry?" Lynn squirmed onto the arm of the couch and sighed as she explained why she desired the weapons.

"It's like the standard model, but with a tougher bomb and a jetpack special. A JETPACK!" She lamented. "I've been doing everything to get enough money for them. I've been battling non-stop, held coaching sessions for several sports, I even cleaned the bathrooms and Flip's Food n' Fuel." She whined.

Lola and Luan were disgusted as they let out a combined "Eww.". Lana however was wide eyed and even a little jealous at the last bit. Lynn groaned as she turned humanoid again. "If only there was a job that payed a lot of dough in one sitting. Then, I'd be in heaven." She hoped. Lana felt an idea form in her head as Lynn found the strength to get off the couch again. "Maybe I'll just play some handball in my room and take it easy for today." Lynn reasoned as she went upstairs. Lola turned back towards Luan cautiously.

"What? No joke?"

"I'd like to make one. But Lynn looked so down, I can't ink of anything." She calmly stated. Lola's face turned red hot again as she saw Luan grow a small grin, knowing very well what she said. Luan laughed and ran away from Lola as the little princess turned her tentacle hair from blonde to pink and grabbed a Mini Splattling from seemingly out of nowhere. She let out a battle cry as she chased Luan and started to open fire.

"When I get my hands on you, you'll have ink stains in your clothes for MONTHS!"

"Mom and Dad said no weapons in the house!"

"WORTH THE RISK!" As the chaos unfolded, Lana simply looked up the stairs with a smile on her face. The rest of the day went by normally for the family, like any other day. Eventually night rolled around and they all went to their respective rooms to get some sleep. As Lynn snored in her bed, she felt something tickle her nose as she slept. She instinctively lifted her arm and scratched to make it stop. It stopped for a few seconds until it came back, causing her to scratch again. Eventually, the tickle changed into something more intense.

CHOMP!

Lynn yelped as she woke to find a small, gray, frenzy eyed fish biting her nose. Lynn growled as she recognized it as Cuda, Lana's pet salmonid. "Cuda, you little… I don't care if Lana said you were bullied and left behind by those other fish. You even freak Lucy out sometimes!" She complained quietly as not to disturb her family. She took a double take and saw Cuda was holding a small piece of paper in one of his fins. Lynn took it and read what was written on it.

 ** _I think I can help you. Meet me in the basement. –Lana_**

Lana looked up to scold Cuda, but was disappointed by the sight of the salmonid making a bunch of rabid noises and scurrying out the door. Lynn scoffed as she climbed out of bed and went downstairs, through the kitchen, and down the basement stairway. When she reached the bottom, she saw Lana sitting behind a cardboard box, petting Cuda like a cat. "So you want some extra money, huh? I know a way for you to get what you want. And even a little more." She reasoned. Lynn's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"If it's pet sitting with him in the equation, I'm not that desperate." She spat pointing to the tiny creature in Lana's hands. But rather than get offended, Lana reached below her and put Cuda down as she pulled out a thick, paperback booklet. Lynn looked at the cover curiously. "Grizzco Industries?"

"They always have a job openings. Hire anyone who is my age or older. And they pay handsomely." She explained. "I would've asked Lola to come with me to volunteer. But you know how she is with stuff like this." As Lynn flipped through the pages of the book, she grew concerned with the amount of salmonids in the pages and the various warnings.

"I don't know, sis. This seems kind of freaky. You really take jobs with this place?" She asked quizzically.

"It's a lot easier than you think. Plus, this job was how I rescued Cuda here."

"That only makes me more nervous." Lynn replied. Lana frowned and looked up at her big sister from below. She cupped her hands together and tried to muster a tear or two in her eyes. "Lana. The puppy dog eyes may have worked on Mom and Dad. But they aren't working on me." Lana persisted and kept shooting Lynn the innocent look. "I said no." Lana leaned in closer, throwing in a small sniffle. Lynn quivered as she looked down lower only to be met with Cuda doing the same routine.

Eventually, Lynn ultimately gave in. "OK. I'll give this job a try." Lana stopped the cute girl routine and did a fist pump. "Booyah!" She cheered as she went back upstairs. "Meet me in Inkopolis Plaza tomorrow. And bring that book!" The 6 year old instructed as she went back to her room. Lynn sighed in defeat as she grabbed the book.

"Those dualies better be worth it." When the sun rose the next day, Lynn wasted no time in getting dressed, ready, and out the door to Inkopolis. When she arrived, she went to the plaza and looked around the crowd for Lana. "Where is she? She made such a big deal about this thing and she just vanishes?"

"Lynn. I'm right here." Lynn turned to her left and looked down to find Lana wearing her red hat, green shirt, and overalls.

"So, where is this place?" She asked. Lana took her sister's hand and led her towards Deca Tower. But Lynn was suspicious when Lana turned left and led her down a pathway leading into a trashy building. The pair walked inside the dimly lit shack and saw a bunch of clutter surrounding the walls. Lynn looked down at Lana in shock. "You work here Lana?" Lana shrugged with a grin on her face.

"Sometimes. Depends how much time I have on my hands." Lynn felt a knot in her stomach and she tugged at the collar of her shirt.

"Yeah, maybe we should just leave? I get the worst possible vibe from this place." Before Lynn could get Lana and herself back out the door, the sharp sound of radio static erupted from the darkness and stopped her dead in her tracks. The girls turned around and tracked the noise to a bizarre carving of a bear with a fish in its mouth and a radio antennae sticking out of it. It shook and bounced on the table it was resting on. A raspy voice could be heard from inside.

"L…come…k…wh…end." Lynn felt a chill radiate through her body at that very moment.

"OK. That's a red card! I'm out!" Lana stopped her sister before she could run out the door.

"Wait. I got this." Lana walked over to the statue and started to fiddle with the antennae and some stuff on the inside. Various clicks and whirrs were heard as Lana tinkered with the insides. After a few seconds, she stopped and tapped the statue. "OK. Try saying something now." Lana commanded the carving.

"Testing. Testing. Oh, thanks kid. I didn't even realize something was wrong."

"No prob, boss." Lana replied casually. She turned to Lynn and smiled. "Lynn, this is Mr. Grizz. He owns the whole company." Lynn blinked in shock and simply waved. The statue shook and continued to speak.

"Lynn huh? Let me guess, you're here for a job?" Lynn, still unable to bring herself to speak, simply nodded in wonder. "Great! You can start now. Go and put on a uniform and go through the tube. Lana, give her the necessary briefings on the way." Lynn snapped out of her shock and tried to talk to Mr. Grizz.

"Wait. Don't I have to sign a contract? Or go through some sort of orientation?" She asked quizzically.

"Nah, don't do that. It gets all the tax collec- I MEAN it's better to live in the moment. No hesitation. Learn by doing." The voice answered. The girls raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "Just get suited up." There was a small click, and then the line went dead. Lynn blinked in confusion over everything that occurred. Before she could raise any more questions, Lana whistled and signaled for Lynn to follow her.

"When we work, we have to wear these." Lana explained referring to an outfit similar to a fisherman at sea. The orange overall piece complimented by the green boots and gloves, the white hat, and even a life preserver ring that seemed hollow and pale. "The ring is also an ink tank. Now come on, we have fish to fry." Lana cheered as she already started to change clothes and bounce into a bathroom in the back. Lynn was still nervous about the job as everything seemed off and sketchy. Yet, she found a small amount of courage to press on.

Taking a deep breath, she grabbed a uniform and started to change inside of the bathroom along with her sister. "Lana. How did you find out about this place?" She asked.

"I was looking through the newspapers trying to find cage bedding for my animals, and I saw an ad for them. I was curious, so I decided to check it out." As they finished changing and turned into squids to go through the tube, Lana continued her story. "When I first came here and Mr. Grizz explained what it was, I was scared, even mad. I thought the whole thing was just picking on a bunch of innocent creatures." As the pair swam through the pipe and where starting to change themselves instinctively with the orange ink surrounding them inside. At the end of the tunnel, they wound up at Sturgeon Shipyard, Lynn felt confused.

"Well if you live animals so much, why did you stick around?" Lana was silent as she thought over Lynn's question and led her to a small fishing boat.

"Because salmonid aren't animals." She spat. "They are like monsters under the bed. They have this weird look in their eyes and they act like jerks to all the other animals that share their habitat." She remarked. "But the worst part is that they even treat each other meanly. Remember how I said I rescued Cuda?" Lynn nodded in response as they boarded the boat. "He was trying to fight like the rest of them. But when he was hurt, they all ignored him as he called for help. So I took him back home with me." Lynn felt a lump in her throat that she struggled to swallow.

"No way. That sounds messed up." Lana nodded in response.

"It makes me happy to know I'm keeping all the other little fish safe by keeping them in check." She sighed. Lynn gave a small smile in return, feeling proud of her little sister's bravado. The moment was then interrupted when a voice called out.

"Howdy, fellars." The sisters looked up to see 2 new arrivals. One was an inkling with a country accent and a smile with a missing front tooth. He was followed by another inkling with a lot of acne on his face and a mess of orange tentacles, unable to be contained by his hat. The girls recognized them as their brother's friends Liam and Rusty respectively. Lana waved and gave a friendly smile.

"Liam, Rusty. Glad you could make it!" Lynn crossed her arms and scoffed.

"You guys work here too?" Liam nodded in response to the question.

"Yeah. I do a lot of farm work for free back at home. This is like a little extra work for a lot more moo-lah." He beamed. Rusty looked down rather depressed.

"I was forced to come here when I tried to sneak some money from my parents. But hey, how hard can it be?"

"You are about to find out kid." The 4 turned to see a statue similar to the one back at the office talking in Mr. Grizz's voice. "I've got the driver manning the wheel setting this boat straight for Marooner's Bay. We should be there in half an hour." He stated. And right on cue, the driver lifted anchor on the dingy and they started moving out to sea.

"So… Half an hour to talk, huh?" Lynn rhetorically asked. Lana smiled and cracked her knuckles.

"That should be just enough time to explain the basic ins and outs." She sighed. The fresh sea breeze glided over the 4 squid kids as they awaited their destination. Lana looked up at her big sister and took a deep breath. She walked over to a small chest on the deck and opened it, pulling out a large handbook like the one from the night before.

"Let's start with the main goal… The golden eggs."

* * *

 **And that's where we leave off. I'm sorry if this disappoints anyone, but I don't feel I have the stamina to write the plot of this whole adventure into a single chapter. I promise to have the Salmonid fiasco for you next time, with all the action my imagination can help me pack into it. And hopefully my future installments will be short enough for single chapters.**

 **See you next time!**


	5. Grizzly work pt2

**"Hello? Is this thing on?"**

 **"It's on, Callie."**

 **"Oh, sweet. Hey everyone, it's me, Callie of The Squid Sisters!"**

 **"And I'm Marie. We're here to speak on behalf of allanarcher777."**

 **"Yeah, he's been working hard to bring you the next chapter. He would have gotten it out sooner if he wasn't so busy."**

 **"If by busy you mean procrastinating by playing Splatoon 2, watching Youtube and The Loud House. Among other things _._ "**

 **"Whoa, Marie. That's a bit rude don't you think? People have more than one hobby in life."**

 **"I guess that's true. Plus he's paying us a lot of money to do this. So where did the readers leave off again?"**

 **"Lynn wanted extra money, so Lana decided to take her to Grizzco and get her into Salmon Run. And Lincoln's friends Rusty and Liam are here too for their own reasons."**

 **"Right. And they went to Marooner's Bay right?"**

 **"Yep. I think that's it."**

 **"Well then our work here is done. Enjoy the chapter and remember..."**

 **"STAY FRESH!"**

* * *

Chapter 5: Grizzly work Pt. 2

Some time had passed and the boat had started to drift into a murky set of islands. The water was a sickly shade of green, an eerie mist across the shoreline, and bizarrely enough there were towering structures that were on fire. The whole place looked like an apocalyptic horror show as the center island in the distance looked like a giant ship was stuck in the middle of it. spoke through his radio as they started to drift in the sea. "There it is, Marooner's Bay." The 4 inklings looked out over the side of the ship and saw the island through the fog. Lana took a deep breath through her nose and exhaled in a giant breath out through her mouth.

"Ahh. Smell that air Lynn?" Lynn took a small sniff and shrugged.

"Not that different from a locker room." She replied as Rusty began to vomit from the same smell. "So just a recap, we need to collect all the golden eggs the big ones drop before our shift ends?"

"And we get payed better the more we bring in." Lana confirmed. The bear radio started to bounce as started to speak again.

"Ok, I'm sending the basket over to the drop off chute. There should be a chest containing your supplies for the job today." Liam turned his head to see a white rectangular box. He opened it to find an assortment of weapons. "The 4 weapons in there should be the N-Zap 85, The Mini Spaltling, The Sloshing Machine, and a Splat Charger." The raspy voice listed off. Sure enough, those were the items in the box. Alongside a Splat Bomb kit and a 4 belts each depicting a different special weapon. Lynn picked up the N-Zap, the bombs, and a belt showing a picture of The Sting Ray.

She held the belt in her hand and examined the pair of gray cylinders caught in the loops. "So, what are these things?" She asked as she poked them.

"Canned specials. The models I have aren't like those Turf War things. You can only use them twice, then you're stuck with the main and sub weapons." instructed. As the other inklings grabbed their supplies, Rusty took the Mini Splatling and stroked his chin.

"Why can't we use the regular sub weapons and not just Splat Bombs?"

"Because federal restrictions on professional weapons are stupid. Now get on over there!" The voice barked. The other inklings jumped in alarm as they scrambled to grab weapons. Lana got the Sloshing Machine and Splashdowns, Liam got the Splat Charger and a Bomb Rush, and Rusty got an Inkjet to go with his main weapon. After they were equipped, the team Super Jumped to the main island in a splash of orange ink. They got up and looked around the murky island, surrounded by icky green water. Lana and Liam immediately starting using their weapons to ink the ground in preparation for an attack. Lynn laughed at the sight.

"Already on your A-game? I think I'm gonna like this." She cheered as she started spraying the ground as well. Rusty simply stood as a giant gray cylinder popped out from the ship. Lynn turned and noticed it too. "So we bring all the golden eggs we find here?" Lana gave a thumbs up in response to her sister's question as she started to splash some ink on to the beach below. Rusty scratched his head, confused by the silence of the moment, save for the waves and ink spreading.

"So, are we supposed to look for these Salmonid things? Or are we waiting until…" Rusty didn't get to finish as a sudden stream of dark green shot through the distance and sniped him. Rusty was only able to endure the pain for a few moments until he burst and left behind only the life preserver ring that was on his back. Lynn was shocked as she saw the little ghost of Rusty splashing around inside of it like it was a kiddie pool. Liam rushed over and sprayed him with some ink, causing Rusty to be restored like he was coming out of a spawn point.

"What. Was. That?" Lynn forced out in pure astonishment. Lana gripped her weapon and pointed in the direction the beam came from.

"Stinger, 9 o'clock!" She shouted as she ran off. Lynn looked and saw a mob of weird fish creatures similar to Cuda trying to attack her little sister with frying pans. But there was one that stuck out from all of them, standing a top a tower of cooking with a tube sticking out of its mouth. Not seeing much alternative, Lynn let out a battle cry and charged into the fray as well. She charged in and opened fire on the brown, slimy fish. Lynn practically mowed them down as she caught up to Lana and started to shoot at the Stinger's tower of cooking pots.

As all the ink bullets connected, the salmonid dropped down to their level and was blown away by a burner that was at the base of the tower. When he was defeated, the fish left behind three glowing yellow orbs. "Take that, cheap shot taking jerk!" She spat. Lana chuckled in response.

"Don't you mean, _pot-_ shot taking jerk?" She laughed. Lynn smiled and playfully punched her sister's arm.

"Don't go turning into another Luan." The pair turned their attention to the trio of yellow orbs that rest where the salmonid once towered over them. They were the size of their little sister, Lily. Lynn fumbled to grip them under her arm, but it slipped out and fell on the ground. "How am I supposed to carry this?" In response to her question, Lana pulled out a fishing net and scooped one of the eggs inside as she swung it over her shoulder. Lynn smiled and mimicked her little sister's actions as she followed her back to the basket.

The pair got onto a propeller powered lift and sprayed it with ink, boosting them up. They walked across the deck of the ruined ship over to the basket and threw the golden eggs in. Lana dusted her hands in satisfaction of the job well done. "That wasn't so hard." Lynn reasoned calmly. Just then, there was an echoing sound of a war horn in the distance. Lana swallowed a lump in her throat anxiously in response.

"Well don't get used to it. Because the salmonids are coming in hot." She stated, pointing in a different direction. Lynn looked over the horizon and gasped at the sight of the ocean. The waves were reacting violently as they clashed with each other in all directions. Salmonids of all shapes and sizes crawled out of the murky waters onto the shore and lumbered forward towards the inklings. A shrill feminine scream was heard as the sisters looked in another direction and saw Rusty running in hear as a small red ball chased him. Only for a giant Maws to come out from the ground and deliver a bite that splatted them.

Lynn blinked and paused for a moment as she cleared her throat. "Listen, Lana. I'm not particularly the cowardly type. But even I have to admit that this is insane work for just a couple of bucks." She reasoned calmly. Lana flung some ink at the horde of fish and splatted them in groups. Except for a hulking, monstrous Steelhead that growled and prepared to launch a giant green bomb. Lana and Lynn prepared to attack, but were beaten to the punch by Liam, whom snipped the bomb from the creature's forehead and defeated it. Lana gave a thumbs up to Liam while simultaneously groaning at Lynn's complaint.

"Come on, Lynn. THIS coming from the girl who brings field hockey sticks to roller derby matches?"

"THAT THING JUST TRIED TO EAT RUSTY!" Lynn screamed in terror. "I'm desperate to get some extra money. But I'm not insane enough to risk life and limb." Lynn curled onto the ground while simultaneously shooting at Salmonids that got close. Lana looked at how her big sister was on the verge of a panic attack and took a deep breath.

"Look, Lynn. I was scared my first time too. In fact, I'm still afraid of being the last one." As she talked, a giant Steel Eel started to close in on them. But Lana and Lynn walked around it and they both hit the pilot in the back, making the whole thing collapse and dropping some more golden eggs. "But the thing that always kept me going was how I remembered how you always gave it your all when playing sports." Lynn calmed down and looked at her sister as they grabbed a few eggs and brought them into the basket. All while ignoring how Rusty, who had recovered from another splat, was running away in fear as a cluster of salmonid chased him.

"Really? I kept you going?" Lynn asked a little surprised.

"Obviously. Sports aren't my thing, but I always thought you were so cool just charging in to score a goal without fear." Lana lamented with a soft smile. "I always want to be brave like you are." Lynn felt a tear form in her eye and she wiped it away.

"Wow Lana. That means a lot." She looked over to how viciously the salmonids were fighting back. A fire was lit inside of her and a smile crossed her face. "And if that's what you think of me…" Lynn jumped forward and opened fire at a whole crowd of enemies. One hid behind a sheet of metal in defense, but Lynn turned into a squid and swam around it. As soon as she got around, she opened fire at splat the fish in the back. "…Then I'll help prove that point!" Lana did a fist pump and the pair rushed in to get more golden eggs from the savage horde.

With a fierce battle cry, the sisters charged through and attacked the psychotic fish straight on. Liam and Rusty were also trying to hold their own against the horde. Rusty had enough of getting splatted and activated one of the charges on his Inkjet. A jetpack popped out of his ink tank and he started to hover as streams of ink pushed him above the ground. He pulled out a sort of cannon along with it and took aim. "Alright you crazy little freaks. It's payback time!"

The boy pulled the trigger of his weapon and shot a ball of ink at a crowd of salmonid. The ball exploded and blasted all the fish back into the green ocean. Rusty looked dumbfounded at the pool of orange ink left from the blast.

And something in him snapped.

He pulled the trigger and fired a blast at another cluster. And again, and again. One shot after another rained down as he laughed manically. Eventually, the Inkjet overheated and burst apart, destroying the cannon Rusty was using and sending him back to where he first took off. But Rusty simply laughed and cheered holding his weapon over his head. "I am Rusty Spokes, KING OF THE BAY!" He roared manically. Rusty felt the adrenaline leave him and he took several deep breaths. He then noticed Liam staring at him in bewilderment.

"Man, the manatees I tend to on the farm are nowhere near as crazy as you are."

"Well, I'm done being pushed around by these things. Nothing can stop me now!" As if on cue, a whistling sound was heard and a quartet of shadows loomed over Rusty. The boy looked up just in time to see 4 rockets fall down on him and explode. Splatting him in a burst of green slime. Rusty's little ghost emerged from the life preserver and sighed. "I hate this job." Liam let out a groan as he sprayed Rusty and revived him. Meanwhile, Lynn had started a rather constructive rampage as she slammed golden egg after golden egg into the basket.

"Oh, yeah. Lynn Loud is on top once again! Thanks for the pep talk, Lana." She congratulated. Lynn paused for a response from her little sister, but none came. "Lana?" She asked again.

"HELP!" Lynn turned and saw Lana next to a golden egg, surrounded by a horde of salmonids. Some were big, some small, and there was even a Flyfish looming over from above. Lynn gasped in shock and was about to run over and help her. But she stopped after taking a few steps as a cold truth sunk in. A fact that broke her heart and made her very angry.

She wouldn't make it in time.

Lynn's blood boiled as her grip on her weapon tightened. She wondered how she could do something, ANYTHING to help. But as she was at her angriest, she remembered how she still had her special weapon at the ready. A cold glare took over Lynn's face as she used the canned special and equipped The Stingray. The motor roared to life as she took aim at the crowd with the nozzle. "Stay away from my sister you mutant freaks!" Lynn snarled as she pulled the trigger and a powerful stream of orange shot out.

Lana was cowering in the form of a squid. Afraid about the pain that was about to befall her. But before she could get hurt, several salmonid caught shot by The Stingray's beam. They burst one after the other and Lana took the opportunity to grab the golden egg and swim back over to the wreckage. The tomboy climbed up the ship and dunked the orb into the basket. Before she could go back for more, a horn was blown and echoed over the whole beach. The mob of crazed fish responded and started to turn around and retreat into the ocean.

At the same time, the golden egg basket retracted and disappeared with all of its contents. Lynn blinked in confusion as the salmonid ran away, only to be disturbed by the sound of static. Lana pulled out a walkie talkie and adjusted the tune until Mr. Grizz started talking through the receiver. "Not bad, kids. Now hurry back to the boat before they decide to regroup." Lana nodded and turned into a squid, super jumping to the boat with her sister and friends behind her. When they landed on the deck, Lynn took some deep breaths before wrapping her sister in a hug.

"That was the craziest thing I've ever been through!" The girls laughed happily as the boat went back to Inkopolis and Rusty started to vomit over the side of the ship. Eventually, the whole group made it back to The Grizzco office and Mr. Grizz reviewed their performance. "Heh, not bad. You brought in 56 golden eggs. That's a pretty respectable haul." Lynn was stunned at how much they actually got done.

"56? I don't even remember doing all that much besides shooting a few fish."

"Eh I lose track of time too." Lana replied. Rusty cleared his throat nervously and got the attention of the mysterious voice.

"So, how much did we make?" He wondered. Mr. Grizz paused for a moment before responding.

"There is a little desk outside to the right of the door. I'll give you your payment back there." He explained. The 4 inklings followed his directions and saw 4 bags get slipped out the window. They all grabbed one and Lynn opened hers cautiously. She was left breathless at the large pool of gold coins inside it. "Hope you like it. Come back whenever you feel like doing some freelance." Mr. Grizz thanked. But Lynn was far too distracted by her reward, as was her co-workers aside from Lana, who was used to it.

Lana dug into her bag and pulled out a pair of silver goggles that was mixed in with her coins. "Look Lynn, I'm an alien. Give me brains!" Lynn laughed at her sister's joke.

"He gave you free gear?"

"He even gives food coupons sometimes." Liam added as he waved a slip of paper in his hand. "Not sure how city folk like him think this is a good business idea. But I ain't complaining. See ya, later." The boy waved goodbye and walked off with Rusty running not too far behind. Lynn smiled and took another look at her payment.

"Thanks for showing me this job, Lana. I actually got enough money for two weapons. Maybe even a new pair of cleats." She said happily. Lana crossed her arms and grinned.

"Feel free to stop by whenever you want."

"Oh, I will! You know what they say… Hard work pays off!"

* * *

 **FINALLY! About time I wrap this up. I'll try and make the next little episode in one chapter if I can. I hope you enjoyed this and see you next ti...**

 ***SLAM***

 **Wha... MARIE!?**

 **"You said you'd pay us for reading the author's note. So where is it?"**

 ***Sigh*... I'll write you a check...**


	6. Day out at Kelp Dome

**"Hello everyone. My name is Clyde McBride. I'm Lincoln's best friend and Lori's future husband..."**

 **Uh, Clyde?**

 **"Huh? Oh sorry, I zoned out there thinking about Lori."**

 **Dude, your cool and all. but you need to find a girl in your age group.**

 **"Criticism aside... Allanarcher777 here..."**

 **Sup.**

 **"Hired me to help him introduce this chapter. And man is he paying a lot."**

 **And by a lot, he means 20 dollars and medicine to help with nose bleeds.**

 **"Still a lot in my book. Are we done?"**

 **We gave a greeting, warmed the audience up, and I also would like to take the time to thank the readers for their patience. Now we are done. Later Clyde.**

 **"See ya. I'm going to go get an ice cream."**

 **Well, enjoy everybody!**

* * *

Chapter 6: Day out at Kelp Dome

Lincoln Loud was sitting on the living room couch, playing a video game at his own leisure. It was one of the boy's escapes from the chaos his life brought with being the middle child in a household filled with females. As he mashed buttons on his controller, a voice called out for him. "Lincoln." He ignored it and kept playing. "Lincoln…" The voice called again, slightly more agitated. Yet Lincoln continued as normal. He was just about to clear the level he was on when suddenly the screen went back and the voice called for him again, this time yelling. "LINCOLN!"

Lincoln yelped in surprise and turned to face the voice that was calling to him. He was surprised to see the individual in question was his mother, who appeared rather frustrated. "Lincoln, that settles it, you've been playing way too many video games!" She scolded as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "I thought you've already learned this lesson before, but apparently I was wrong."

"But Mom, this isn't fair." Lincoln's gaze shifted towards the dining room where he saw his little sister, Lucy sitting at the table reading a book. "Besides, Lucy is even lazier than I am!" He remarked. Lucy heard the blame and looked up and turned towards Lincoln.

"Excuse you?"

"Now Lincoln, don't try and…" The inkling mother drifted off and started to recall her darkness loving daughter's history. Sitting in home. Staying indoors. The pale skin. And even sitting in cramped areas in the form of a black lump like squid. "Actually, you have a point." Lucy was taken aback by how her mother's attention was starting to shift.

"Mom. You know how much I prefer the darkness." She pleaded. Yet Rita's mind was set and locked in tough love mode.

"Lucy, this has nothing to do with what you like or your personal interests. It's a matter of your health. Sitting inside all day isn't right." She asserted. "And where do you think you are going, Lincoln?" She asked with an authority that made Lincoln freeze in place as he was trying to sneak upstairs into his room. "That's right, I know what you were trying to do and it is not working. Now get back down here." Lincoln glumly complied as he turned into a white squid and slid back down the steps beside his goth sister. He took humanoid shape again and the pair looked down at the floor.

Rita saw how upset her children looked and felt a little bad. She tried to think of something that would appease all their wants and needs as a group. Yet she struggled to think of something on the fly. Yet as fate would have it, Lynn came rushing down the stairs carrying a sack of cash. "Bye, Mom. I'm off to the square to play in Turf Wars. I'll try and be back around three!" She claimed. An idea sparked in the mother's mind at the sight of her 5th eldest child. Rita stopped Lynn before she could get out the door.

"Hold on, Lynn. Wait a minute before you leave." She turned back around to Lincoln and Lucy and took a deep breath. "Alright you two, lazy squids. You have a choice. On one hand, I can sign you up for the football team…" Lincoln felt a chill ripple through his body as his mother looked squarely at him with a mischievous smile. Rita's eyes then shifted to her daughter as she continued. "…and the cheerleader squad respectively." Lucy gasped in utter horror at the remark. The mere thought of being dressed in the peppy outfit with her tentacles in a twin ponytail style nearly made her gag.

"You wouldn't."

"Or, you could spend the whole day playing outside with your big sister." The matriarch of the Louds offered gesturing her head towards Lynn, who looked rather confused at what was happening. Lincoln and Lucy glanced at each other and both swallowed the lumps in their throats as they broke a sweat. "Well? What's it going to be?" After a moment of silence, the pair let out a sigh in defeat.

"Ok. I'll go with Lynn."

"Me too. A day in the sun and getting shot at with ink is more tolerable than having to prance around like a fairy or singing like a silly pop star." A pair of gasps were heard from the kitchen and all four inklings turned to see Lola holding a juice box and Luna trying to make a sandwich. They were petrified by Lucy's remarks and Lola dropped the box on the floor, spilling juice all over the ground. Everyone could feel the tension rise. Lucy tried to reply, but Lola held up one finger and took a deep breath.

"Because you didn't know we were here, you get a 10 minute head-start." She offered.

"Better not waste it dude. The tide goes out pretty quickly for people who diss what I like." Luna threatened. Without any further input, Lincoln and Lucy hurried upstairs and grabbed a couple of Splattershot Jrs. From Lynn's room. Once they got the toy guns, they hustled out the door tailing behind Lynn. After a bit of running, they managed to get to Inkopolis Square with no sight of Lola and Luna. Lincoln's gaze drifted a bit until he saw something that peaked his interest. He gazed upward, awing in wonder at The Shoal arcade.

"I know what's going through your mind, little bro. But no way. Turf war is nothing like football and I think you'll like it, you too Luce." Lynn remarked optimistically. Lucy didn't bother responding as she just walked towards Deca Tower. Lynn lunged forward and grabbed her little sister's shoulder. "Whoa. Where do you think you're going?"

"I'm going to get this waste of time over with."

"With those!?" Lynn asked pointing at the tiny weapons they had. "No way, I'm getting you guys started with more advanced tools. Follow me." She commanded. Lincoln and Lucy groaned as they followed her to the left side of the street and the trio walked into a store with turf war weapons lining the walls and shelves. Lincoln looked around and grew a little anxious around all the various weapons. Each and every one of them looked like they could cause some serious terror, and the thought of being hit with one of them caused him to break a small sweat. Lynn however was rather excited to be in the building. "Here it is, guys. Welcome to Ammo Knights!" Lucy looked around and shrugged.

"I don't think anyone is here." Lynn made note of this and saw a small note taped above a red button that was mounted on the wall. She walked over to it and read the paper.

 _'If no one is here, push the button for service.'_ Lynn did as the paper said and pushed the red button, causing a buzzer to sound throughout the store. Almost immediately after, a small green lump shook around on the floor. The Louds turned to face it as the object seemed to rise off the ground, revealing a short individual with thick black and orange goggles over his eyes. He almost looked like a child playing soldier with the clashing peach colored baby face and green and gray army outfit.

"Sorry for the wait. I was looking at some blueprints of new weapons coming to the market." He apologized as he adjusted the helmet on his head. He looked around and spotted Lynn, immediately causing a happy, bucktooth smile to form on his face. "Well, well, well. Lynn Loud Jr. is back already? How did you like the new Tentatek Splattershot I gave you?" He asked. Lynn chuckled and walked over to the stout crab-like person.

"Great. I thought the dualies would fit me, but you know your stuff and you aren't even an Inkling." The girl complimented as she punched the man's arm. "Can't wait until I have the money to buy the Pro model." Sheldon chuckled and rubbed the spot where Lynn punched. "Lincoln and Lucy, this is Sheldon. He owns this whole place. Sheldon, this is my brother and sister. We're here to get some weapons for them to have a head start in turf wars." Lynn explained. Lucy stood motionless while Lincoln gave a rather, nervous wave. Sheldon looked at the pair and started to nod in understanding.

"I see. Well, anyone who is fine by Lynn is fine by me. Now, let's see what I can find you two…" Sheldon walked over to the pair and looked over Lincoln up and down. He stroked his chin and narrowed his eyes. After a solid 10 seconds of staring at Lincoln, he snapped his fingers and pointed at the white tentacle inkling. "You are a very persistent person." He stated very bluntly.

"Persistent? What are you talking about?" Lincoln asked confused by the statement.

"You constantly struggle through adversity in your life. The odds are almost always stacked against you in everything in life. Yet, you don't take it lying down either." Lincoln was silent as the man explained himself. "You don't snap from all the pressure placed on you. Instead you adapt, endure, and grow from it all. You often think your way through a problem and have a plan for any situation. It doesn't matter if things are calm or chaotic, you get the job done!" The crab finished. Lincoln was in awe at the man's speech. His mouth was agape at how accurate Sheldon was with his personality.

He blinked twice before he spoke again. "You knew all that just by looking at me?"

"I have a talent for deducing my customer's mindset. And I happen to have a weapon just for people like you." Sheldon went over to one shelves and started to browse all the various types of guns. Eventually, he saw the one he wanted to give Lincoln and grabbed it. He turned to the boy and presented his recommendation. "Here you go, Lincoln. I find this will suit you perfectly." Lincoln looked at the so-called 'gun' and his gaze shifted into one of disappointment.

"That's just a plastic soda bottle with a gun trigger taped to it."

"In design, yes. But in performance, the Squeezer is top of the line in versatility. Follow me to the training room, I'll show you how to use it." Sheldon then led the group into a backroom that looked like some sort of garage with a transparent roof. Various balloons were mounted to the ground like training dummies and Sheldon handed the Squeezer to Lincoln and began to explain how it worked. "Pulling the trigger repeatedly will make it shoot out powerful shots over a fair distance one at a time. But holding it produces a short range rapid fire to cover turf quickly." He explained. Lincoln focused and shifted the color of his tentacles into a light shade of blue and tried using the weapon the way Sheldon described pulling the trigger 3 times in a row. Each time, a single burst of ink the same color as his hair was flew outward over a couple feet. After that, he held the trigger and caused a stream of ink to coat the ground where he stood. A small smile formed on his face as he proceeded to fire a few shots at one of the balloons, making it pop. Lincoln grinned and hummed to himself in satisfaction.

"Not bad actually." The boy remarked as his hair turned back to his regular shade of white.

"If that wasn't enough, it comes with a Splash Wall, so you can create a makeshift shield. As well as a Stingray for long range devastation." Sheldon wrapped up his explanation with a chuckle. "Yes sir, that is a weapon set for squids that want to do it all.

"What about me?" Lucy spoke suddenly from behind Sheldon. The crab was caught off guard by her sudden appearance and retreated into his helmet like shell. After a few seconds, he regained his composure and came back out, readjusting his goggles in the process. Sheldon cleared his throat and looked Lucy over. Eventually, Sheldon started to piece together an analysis on the girl.

"You are… complex to say the least. You are quiet and rather self reserved. You prefer to keep to yourself and not concern yourself with matters that don't directly effect you or your peers. But when you open up to those you are close to, you share a lot. And despite the cold exterior and dark colors, you are very artistic and caring." Lucy didn't say anything at first. But after a few seconds, she shrugged.

"I guess that was pretty accurate."

"Well, I also happen to have a weapon just for you as well." Sheldon smugly replied as he ran back inside his store and rummaged around looking for the item in question. Eventually, he found the trinket and ran back into the training area carrying the weapon he thought Lucy would like. "Here you are. Sleek, sneaky, and stylish all wrapped into a single package." Sheldon presented the weapon to Lucy and her emotionless expression didn't change as she gawked at it through the tentacles that made her bangs.

"That's just an umbrella." She stated. Nevertheless, Lucy grabbed it by the handle and inspected it. "I mean. It's black, which is my favorite color, but not much else about it." She stated bluntly.

"It may look like a standard umbrella. But that is the Undercover Brella. It's capable of firing rapid shots while the canopy is opened to use as a shield. It's even outfitted with the quickest self-repair mechanism on the market to patch it up if it breaks. It was actually modeled after this crazy spy movie, which had a similar..."

"Hey, hey, HEY! Easy Point-Dexter. You're ranting about extra details again." Lynn scolded as she cut Sheldon off. The crab looked down ashamed as if a child got scolded by their mother.

"Sorry. Force of habit. What is important is that it comes with inkmines and the Splashdown as self defense tools to compliment its stealth capabilities." Sheldon summarized as a smile returned to his face. Lucy located a small trigger at the bottom of the weapon's handle and pulled it, causing a shot to fire and open the canopy, releasing multiple more shots and spreading a lot of black ink all over the floor. Lucy shrugged and closed the brella in content.

"I guess I could work with this." She remarked.

"Glad you like it. But…" Sheldon trailed off.

"But what?"

"But black ink is not an official color allowed by regulations." Sheldon chuckled. Lucy and her siblings looked at the ground and the girl felt a large feeling of disappointment overwhelm her.

" _Sigh."_

The group went back into the main room of the store with Lincoln and Lucy holding the weapons Sheldon recommended for them. Lynn took a small breath and looked Sheldon dead in the eye. "So, how much do we owe you?" She asked. Sheldon narrowed his eyes and weighed his options. Both inkling and crab seemed to be looking at several scenarios one after the other in their minds. Cautious about how things would go if one made a wrong move of some sort. Eventually, Sheldon nodded and spoke again.

"Well since they are your family, and you are a bigger Turf War enthusiast than I am, I think you deserve a fair discount. Let's say about 40 percent?" He offered. Lynn paused for a moment and responded.

"50 percent."

"45. Take it or leave it."

"Deal." After reaching an agreement, Lynn pulled out a large sack of cash and placed it on the counter. "Alright, guys. You ready to go to Deca Tower now?" Lucy looked down at the floor and crossed her arms.

"Are you absolutely sure that we can't just go somewhere else and pretend we went to a Turf War with you?" She asked. Before Lynn or Lincoln could make a follow up statement, a shrill scream echoed through the square and caused them to look out the window. Outside, they saw Lola and Luna asking talking to various people with homemade wanted posters.

They read: (WANTED! LUCY LOUD. GUILTY OF CALLING DANCING AND POP-STARS STUPID. ALIVE.) As wells as having a picture of Lucy on them. Both sisters were asking around for the goth in their own ways, with Luna asking around politely for information. But on the other hand, Lola was more forceful and aggressive. "I know she's here. And I know you've seen her. Now where is she?" she yelled at a blue jellyfish person wearing a yellow shirt.

"I don't know where this girl is. I swear!"

"LIES!" The jellyfish ran off screaming as Lola gave chase. "I CAN FIND OUT WHERE YOU LIVE!" She hollered. Everyone inside Ammo Knights could only gawk in horror as Lola terrorized the poor man. Lucy in particular felt her blood turn to ice at the sight of her sister's anger. She used the Undercover Brella to cover her face.

"On second thought, my eternal rest can wait a couple more years." She sighed in defeat. Lincoln and Lynn scooched beside her and proceeded to sneak past the angry sisters and into Deca Tower. As they walked through the lobby to the registry terminal, Lincoln and Lucy made note of all the other inklings in the building. Each and every one of them looked fierce and competitive. Decked out in various gear made specifically for battle. Lincoln swallowed the lump in his throat as Lynn started to sign the three of them up for a match.

"Yeah, we are definitely out of our element." He stated bluntly. Lynn waved the remark off rather smugly.

"Relax you two. It's just that they have their 'game faces' on. After a while, you'll have your own and understand it's nothing more than…" Lynn trailed off as something on the match status caught her eye. She started to laugh uncontrollably, worrying her siblings. "Oh, classic! Hey Luce, check it out!" Lucy anxiously looked at the screen and found what was making the jock laugh. A small grin formed on Lucy's face.

"Ha ha. Looks like fate seems to be shining a light on our brother today. But is it of fortune or misery?" She spoke in a monotone voice despite her happiness. Lincoln raised an eyebrow quizzically.

"What are you two talking about?" The sister's stepped aside and showed Lincoln the screen. His eyes trailed through the names of people on both teams. He didn't see anything that alarming at first. Just that both his sisters were on the enemy team. But as he looked at his own, one name caught him by surprise and almost caused him to faint. "RONNIE ANNE!? She's in this match? On my team?" Lynn laughed even harder.

"I know! Love on the battlefield. This is priceless." Lincoln looked down with a small pink blush on his cheeks. Lynn slowed her giggles down and ruffled the tentacles on his head. "Aw, chill out Stinkoln. If it makes you feel better, chances are you're not the only one that's gone through this exact situation." She comforted. "Now come on you two. It's game time!" She cheered as she went through one of the transport tubes. Lincoln and Lucy looked at each other and took a deep breath as Lucy followed Lynn and Lincoln went down his own tube.

When the sisters emerged, they turned and got a good look at each other. Lucy looked at her sister's tentacles and then at her own. She shrugged in response to the dark purple hew they have taken in place of her usual black. "Hmm. It's not my first choice, but at least it's not super bright." Lucy remarked as two more inklings, one boy and one girl, showed up beside them with their weapons. Lynn didn't really bother to greet them as she was focused on trying to spot Lincoln over on the other side of the building. Eventually, she spotted something come out of the yellow spawn point across the arena. She smiled as she saw the squid take the shape of her brother.

As Lincoln stood up, he recognized the building he was currently inside. "Kelp Dome? I thought this place was just for Lisa and her scientist co-workers to perform experiments on plants. They have turf wars in here?" He asked himself. To his surprise, someone responded.

"Yep. And it's not even the weirdest place to play." Lincoln turned and saw a girl wearing a dark purple hooded sweatshirt. The hood covered all the tentacles on her head and left her tan colored face exposed. "Sup, Lame-O. Finally trying turf war?" She asked.

"Oh, hey Ronnie Anne. And yeah, Lucy and I came with Lynn. Albeit reluctantly." Lincoln responded. Ronnie Anne smirked and twirled a large Ink Brush over her shoulder.

"Well, I'll understand if you bomb. And the new hairstyle you have is definitely a nice consolation prize." She chuckled as she pointed at Lincoln. He looked up to find his hair and been dyed from his usual snowy white to a bright yellow. Ronnie Anne started to laugh even harder. "You look like lemon!" She joked. Lincoln looked at his reflection in the spawn point and chuckled a little bit.

"I'd say more of a tennis ball color." He retorted just as another pair of inklings showed up. "So, this is our team?"

"Looks like it. Well, let's rock and roll!" Ronnie Anne cheered. Soon, Judd and Lil' Judd showed up and pulled out a laptop to display the match stats.

 **PURPLE TEAM**

 _Lynn: Tentatek Splattershot_

 _Lucy: Undercover Brella_

 _Shelly: Luna Blaster NEO_

 _Mitch: Goo Tuber_

 **YELLOW TEAM**

 _Lincoln: Squeezer_

 _Ronnie Anne: Ink Brush Noveau_

 _Corin: Tri Slosher_

 _Jasmine: H-3 Nozzelnose D_

There was a tense feeling in the air as both teams got ready to fight. Lincoln and Lynn took aim with their respective weapons. Ronnie Anne took an eager stance with her brush, ready to start running. Lucy pointed her brella forward, ready to fire. The tension built to a high level and no one, not even the Judds, dare to break it. Then in an instant, that tension was smashed as the starting siren wailed and both teams took off.

Lynn sprayed her ink to both her left and right sides before going to her right and going up a ramp. She walked onto the metal grating above the centerfield. She spread some more ink and coated the ground below purple. As she was covering the floor, she felt some ink graze her and she reeled back from the pain. Lynn traced the projectile to Corin, the boy with the Tri Slosher. "Get back here! I'm not finished yet!" He shouted as he swung the bucket and tried to splat Lynn. Lynn's eyes darted around until she thought of something.

"Alright, come and get me." Lynn taunted as she started to morph into a squid. Her opponent did the same and slipped through the grate below their feet. However, before Lynn slipped through, she quickly stopped and turned back into a humanoid form, securing the high ground. Quickly taking aim, she opened fire on Corin and splat him before he realized what happened. "Booyah!" Lynn cheered as she continued her assault.

Meanwhile, Lincoln and Ronnie Anne decided to travel together. The girl charged forward and left a trail of yellow on the ground that Lincoln swam through. After a bit of running, the pair made it to the center and ducked behind the wall. "How you holding up, Lincoln?" The tough girl asked.

"I'm pretty good." Lincoln replied. He threw a small device that grew taller when it hit the ground, making a wall like curtain of ink. Lincoln took aim with his Squeezer and fired a few shots at the inkling with the Goo Tuber, splatting him and leaving a small ghost to float back to the enemy spawn. Ronnie Anne whistled in awe of Lincoln's marksmanship. Lincoln himself was a little surprised. "Whoa. Guess that's beginners luck if I've ever seen it." He remarked, confused by his performance.

"Well don't let it go to your head. Come on, we should probably try and slip into the enemy base and grab some extra points." Ronnie Anne suggested as she started to dash forward towards a small alcove behind another wall. She reached into her pocket and dropped a small Inkmine behind her. Ronnie Anne ducked behind the wall and tightened the grip on her brush as she felt energy build up inside of her. "Alright, I have my special ready. I'll go in and wear them down so you can give me more cover after. Ready, Lame-o?" She asked eagerly. However, no response came. "Lincoln?" She asked again.

Curious, Ronnie Anne retraced the path of ink with her eyes back to where she started. When she looked back, amidst the chaotic battle of the other players, she saw a pool of purple ink where she had last seen Lincoln. Ronnie Anne came to the conclusion that he was splatted and was about to go by herself when she heard a voice. "My brother didn't see it coming. And you won't either."

"Lucy!?" Ronnie Anne jumped up and aimed her brush forward, ready to swing at the Loud whenever and wherever they popped up. She remained on guard, waiting for the girl to pop up. Before she knew it, an Inkling was right next to her.

"Boo." Lucy whispered in her rival's ear. Ronnie Anne let out a quick scream and activated her special. A plastic pouch attached to her ink tank inflated and encased Ronnie Anne in a transparent bubble. She rolled away from Lucy trying to get to the opposite side of the stage. Eventually, she felt like she had gotten far enough away and started to fill the space around her with yellow ink. Eventually, it filled up so much the ball exploded and left Ronnie Anne in the middle of a large yellow pool. She panted heavily, looking several ways to make sure the coast was clear. But her relief was short lived as Lucy popped up again and fired at her from behind.

"You know that there was another passage through my base that lead here, right?" She asked as she jumped down and took aim for another shot. Ronnie Anne panicked and tried to take a few swings at Lucy with her brush. Unfortunately, the goth was out of reach and fired another shot, wounding her opponent. Without many options left, Ronnie Anne decided to cut her losses and retreat. She started to transform so she could swim in the ink to a safer location. Lucy was about to land the final blow to splat her, but stopped and took a good look at Ronnie Anne's transformation. Her alternate form had a more rounded head than usual. "That was… weird." Lucy remarked in confusion.

Lucy was about to continue and cover more turf, but was caught off guard by another inkling with the H-3 Nozzelnose D. They laughed as Lucy's spirit returned to the respawn point. "Next time, stay focused you little freak!" She taunted. The girl was about to continue her mission to conquer the arena, when Lynn jumped out of some ink on the center wall and splatted her. As the ghost began to float away, Lynn shouted angrily at it.

"Say anything like that about my little sis again, and you're history!" She promised. As she continued to spray the ground, she felt her tentacle hair start to glow and power build up inside her. "Oh yeah! It's Inkjet time!" She cheered in excitement. Lynn was about to activate it when she saw Lincoln over in the distance. He was also glowing and noticed her as well. Time seemed to slow down as they locked eyes and stared each other down.

Eventually, Lynn and Lincoln both activated their special weapons and began to fight. Lynn's tank turned into a jet pack and her weapon became some sort of cannon. Lincoln on the other hand summoned his Stingray, took aim, and fired a high powered stream at his sister. Lynn drifted to the side and barely dodged the laser-like trail of ink as it grazed her arm. She pointed the cannon in her arms towards Lincoln and pulled the trigger to launch an explosive glob of purple ink. The burst landed next to Lincoln and caused him to stumble and swerve his shot as he moved covered in ink. It careened into Lynn again and soaked her in more ink until she ended up being splatted. Lincoln panted in amazement and soon found himself laughing. As Lynn floated back to her spawn point, she couldn't help but feel proud of her little brother for his victory. "Not bad, little bro. Not as good as me but you are keeping pace." She remarked to herself.

As Lynn reformed at her team's base, a voice rang out throughout Kelp Dome. "One minute left. Now or never!" Lynn grinned in response to the message and jumped off her spawn point, spraying in multiple directions while charging forward. All the while the other inklings unleashed their true strength as well. In the distance, Lynn saw a large explosion of purple ink in the form of a Splashdown, wondering for a moment if it was Lucy or her teammate with the Goo Tuber. Nevertheless, she still pushed on. "Come on, Lynn. Keep pushing on!" She encouraged herself as she sprayed more and more of the ground. She was about to move into the rival base, until an Inkbrush splashed some yellow goo in her face.

"Not quite, Lynn!" Lynn wiped the ink off her face to find Ronnie Anne blocking her way. "Come at me whenever you want!" She taunted. Lynn grinned knowing that's exactly what her opponent wanted.

"A gun in a sword fight? Nah, you come over to me instead." With that, Lynn sunk into her ink and started to refill on ammo for her weapon. But as she slipped back, she missed a small patch of yellow that exploded in the form of an Inkmine. "Ugh, AHH!" Lynn screamed as she frantically made a small opening for her to escape her rival's assault. She used the last of the ink in her tank to throw a Splatbomb. Ronnie Anne jumped back in fear of the explosive devices potential. But before it detonated, Ronnie Anne felt something slide across her skin, covering her whole body and solidifing like a shell.

The Splatbomb burst against the shell and it broke apart as a result. Lynn was stunned at the turn of events. "How did you do that?"

"Heh, it pays to have even one teammate with Ink armor on your team." Ronnie Anne swung her brush one more time and felt energy bubble up inside her again. She activated her Baller and rolled over towards the center of the arena. As Lynn followed her and tried to cover the ink trail, the final count began to end the match.

" **5…4…** " Ronnie Anne climbed the center platform. " **3…2…** " She filled the ball with ink and pressure built up inside. " **1…** " SPLOOSH! The ball exploded and the game had ended with a surplus of yellow ink outnumbering the patches of purple. All the inklings gathered around the center and looked at the mess as the cat referees examined the stadium. Lincoln walked over to Ronnie Anne with a smile on his face.

"Ronnie Anne, you were amazing out there!" He congratulated, causing the girl to blush from flattery. Lynn and Lucy followed behind their brother with compliments of their own.

"She was cool and all. But she wasn't nearly as cool as you were in our little showdown. Guess my punches and Dutch Ovens toughened you up nicely, bro." Lynn reasoned while punching her brother's arm. Lucy's neutral expression remained unchanged.

"I guess I underestimated my own skill. Though I still prefer writing poetry." She remarked. Eventually, the Judd pair eventually came to a decision. They reached behinds to pull out the flags of the winning team.

However, everyone was stunned to see the color of the flags were purple. "Wait. WHAT!?" Everyone, including the winners exclaimed. Lincoln, Lynn, and Ronnie Anne were among the most confused.

"How is that possible?"

"Yeah, as much as I like winning, your team clearly has more ground." Curious about the outcome, Lucy sprayed some ink on the center platform and climbed up to get a better view. She looked over to the yellow team's base and noticed the real deciding factor.

"Lincoln, how many of your teammates bothered to cover the ground around your spawn?" Lucy asked. Taken by surprise, Lincoln and Ronnie Anne climbed up and looked towards their spawn to see a very large portion of it barren and dry. As opposed to the purple team's base, which was even more purple than a grape.

"Dang it…" The pair moaned simultaneously.

Eventually, the 3 Louds returned to Deca Tower and collected their rewards. Lynn glanced over to her siblings and saw their smiles, causing her to give a rather smug grin. Lincoln and Lucy saw the expression on the jock's face and didn't say anything as she leaned closer to them. Eventually, the pair caved and admitted their feelings. "Ok Lynn, you got us. This was a lot of fun and we enjoyed it." Lincoln confessed. Lucy looked down and rubbed her shoulder.

"I still prefer to write poetry and relax in the darkness. Though I will admit this was an enjoyable break despite being forced into it against my will." She explained in a monotone voice. The trio's conversation was interrupted as Ronnie Anne showed up and waved to them.

"Hey, Lame-O!" She greeted as she ran over to Lincoln. "Listen, embarrassing reason for a loss aside, you were really good out there. In fact, I was actually wondering if you were up for another round. Interested?" She asked while nudging Lincoln's arm.

"Am I ever!" He cheered as he followed Ronnie Anne back into the tower. Lynn walked behind them and proceeded to go into the tower as well. She stopped and turned to face her little sister before she walked through the door.

"You want in, Lucy?" She asked.

"No. I think I'll just spend the rest of the day going through the cemetery." She responded. "But before I do, I want to tell you something."

"Don't worry, Luce. I always got your back if someone is bullying you. Just give me a holler and not even a respawn pad can fix their body after I'm done with them!" Lynn snarled in pure aggression. Lucy stood there bewildered by Lynn's outburst.

"That's nice to hear. But not what I was referring to." She confessed.

"Oh. Well what were you talking about?"

"I saw something while we were playing. Something strange." Lynn's expression shifted into a rather bored and uninterested one.

"Lucy. If you say you saw one of the 'ghosts of fallen turf warriors', I'm walking away."

"It wasn't a ghost, unfortunately." Lucy explained as she said the last word under her breath. "It was Ronnie Anne. When she transformed to swim in ink, she looked… strange. I didn't say anything before because I didn't want to upset her or Lincoln." She explained. Lynn raised an eyebrow as curiosity set in.

"Strange how?"

"Well her form looked a little…" Lucy was cut off by someone's howls of rage.

"THERE YOU ARE!" The sisters turned to see Lola and Luna, the former mashing a fist into her other hand. "It took us all day, but now justice will be served. And no amount of playing dead can save you this time!" Lucy panicked.

"Look, can't we just talk this out?" She asked with a nervous smile. Luna shook her head disapprovingly.

"You think pop stars are silly? Well we are gonna show you something REAL silly!" She said with a menacing tone. Lucy felt the tension and ran off past them through the crowd of people. Lola growled again and pointed in Lucy's direction.

"Don't let her get away!" She shouted as she and Luna gave chase to their little sister. Lynn looked at the scene in bewilderment.

"Good luck, sis." She saluted as she turned back to the tower. Lynn stopped and pondered what her sister wanted to say. "What was she talking about with Ronnie Anne?" After a few seconds, she shook her head and waved it off. "She must have been having a rough time seeing through her hair." Lynn reasoned as she walked back into Deca Tower to sign up for another game.

* * *

 **Hey everyone. I'm happy to finally upload this next installment after so much struggle and hard work. But I will admit that it's so worth it in the end! See you next time I update this little AU series.**

 **Oh, and I'd also like to thank Cy Man for his reviews and feedback. You rock dude!**


	7. Lost lil' squid

**"Hello everyone. My name is C.Q. Cumber. You might recognize me from Splatoon 2's Octo Expansion. I've come here to deliver a message before the story begins..."**

 **"The story took too long to update. Test failed."**

 **...**

 **"Ha! Just kidding. The real announcement is that the author is very grateful for your support in this story. But would also like to reiterate that he does not want this to be hogged all for himself. He would be more than supportive of both Loud House and Splatoon fans alike who want to throw their hat into this AU themselves. He IS refraining from single player mode content outside of bits of lore after all. So that's free for people to use."**

 **"He'd also like to give special shout outs to SuperDimentio77, Cy Man, and especially Cryandia for all their support. There is one more thing that needs to be discussed. But I'll wait until after this little episode is over before I explain. I'll see you later."**

* * *

Chapter 7: Lost lil' squid.

The moon shined down on the Loud household as the whole family was fast asleep. Except for Lynn, who was lying in her bed staring at her phone checking the match lineup for the next day. "So, I'm going to have to be careful of those side gardens at Inkblot. They could totally come out of nowhere by using them." Lynn spoke to herself quietly as she formed potential strategies. As she looked at the schedule, she got a text message from her friend, Margo. Curious on why she would be messaged so late, she tapped on the alert shown on her screen and started to chat.

 _{Lynn! How excited are you right now?}_

 _{Excited? About what? Is there a basketball game at Goby Arena or something?}_

 _{You don't know? You've hit the big leagues of Turf War today! Were you paying attention to your level lately?}_

Curious about what her friend was implying, Lynn opened the Splatnet app on her phone and checked her status. Her eyes glossed over the screen showing all her match stats. At first, she found nothing of major interest to her. But then she saw something that stunned her and she instantly knew what Margo was talking about. She was about to let out a very noisy scream, but stopped herself at the last second. The last thing she wanted was everyone in the house angry at her in the middle of the night, especially Lori and Lola.

Needing to get her excitement out, she continued texting her friend.

 _{Holy Mackerel. I'm level 10! I was so busy with regular battles that I didn't notice.}_

 _{Well this is different, usually you are the one who is ahead of the game. LOL!}_

 _{Tomorrow, we make our mark on the world!}_

Satisfied with the turn of events, Lynn turned off her phone and went to sleep eager to enter her first ranked battle in the morning. Soon the hours passed and the sun rose and Lynn was blazing through the house trying to get everything off her morning to do list so she could get to Inkopolis Square as fast as possible. After taking a shower and getting dressed, she hurried downstairs into the kitchen and got herself a bowl of cereal, which she started shoveling into her mouth at a rapid pace. Her animalistic behavior caught the attention of her youngest sister, Lily.

The baby giggled at the sight and sound of Lynn slurping the milk out of her bowl. Lynn looked at the baby in her high chair and made a funny face with various cereal bits still in her mouth, making Lily laugh even harder. As the sisters giggled, their father walked in with a nervous expression on his face. "Uh, hey kiddo."

"Morning, Dad. I'm feeling extra pumped for Turf Wars today."

"That's great, Jr. But I actually need your help with something today." Lynn Sr. confessed a little disappointed. Lynn, sensing the uneasiness of her father's tone, grew a little worried.

"What do you need me to do? If it's some heavy lifting before I leave, I think I can manage." She reasoned. Lynn Sr. bit his lip as the kitchen fell silent. He tugged at the collar of his shirt as he tried to think of a way to cushion the blow. But as he looked at his athletic daughter, he failed to think of something.

"L.J., sweetie. I need you to watch Lily today." Lynn was surprised at her father's request and gasped in horror.

"Watch Lily, the whole day!?" She practically shouted while emphasizing her baby sister, whom had turned into a squid and started splattering her baby food with her tentacles.

"I know it's sudden. But your mother and I have to work, the day care is closed, and there is no one else I can turn to." The patriarch explained. Lynn started to panic as the news was broken to her.

"What about Lori?"

"Bobby got her tickets to Wahoo World and they left."

"Leni?"

"Mall shopping spree."

"Luna?"

"Concert. She even left before everyone else in the house woke up." As each of her siblings were crossed off the list, Lynn's tone started to sound more heartbroken and depressed.

"Luan?"

"Birthday parties."

"…Lincoln?"

"Also Wahoo World. It was a four person pass and they made it a double date with Ronnie Anne." Lynn felt her heart break and her head dropped to the table in defeat as she groaned.

"This isn't fair. I just reached level 10 and I still can't compete in ranked battles yet. This stinks!" She moped. Lynn Sr. sat down on the chair beside his daughter and tried his best to cheer her up.

"It's not so bad. You can still play tomorrow in all the games you want tomorrow. And you can still go anywhere you want with Lily. Just try to make the best of it, okay?" Lynn picked up her head and sighed, her eyes drifting to her little sister's innocent eyes.

"Fine. I'll watch Lily."

"Thanks, kiddo." Lynn Sr. kissed his daughter's forehead and ran out the door. "Love you. Be home before dinner!" Lynn let out a small wave and looked at Lily as the baby changed back to a humanoid state.

"Well, Lily. Guess it's you and me today." She sighed as she scooped her sister out of the high chair and went to the closet to get a stroller to cart her around in. Once she found one, she strapped Lily into it and they were out the door heading towards Inkopolis Square. After a couple of minutes, the pair arrived in the city hub and Lily began to make a fuss. She let out a loud wail and started disturbing all the inklings and jellyfish in the area. "Oh, calm down sis. Do you need a change? Are you thirsty? I'll get you something to drink." Lynn promised as she wheeled over The Crust Bucket. Lily's crying quickly caught the attention of the prawn in the truck.

"Urrk. Let me guess, something for the baby?" He asked covering his ears to shelter himself from the cacophony of wails.

"I thought she liked peaches. Get me a Blast Armor, please." Lynn ordered. The prawn quickly got squirted the juice into a cup and handed it to Lynn. She was about to hand over some money, but the vendor stopped her.

"For that poor thing, it's on the house."

"Really? Thanks." Lynn quickly turned to her baby sister, holding the cup in her hand. The baby saw her sister and slowed her crying in raspy breaks. "Alright, Lily. Dad makes that Peach stuff for you, so this should be good. Now open wide and…" Lynn was cut off as Lily's crying picked up and she swung her arms in the air. Lynn felt the juice knocked out of her hands and into the air above them. She looked up just in time to see the cup fall on top of her and cover her in fruit drink. The crying suddenly stopped as both Lily and the truck vendor stared at Lynn.

Lily started to giggle and clap at Lynn's misfortune, causing Lynn's eye to twitch in frustration. She growled as she pushed Lily's stroller over to an empty bench over by Deca Tower and sat down. "This isn't fair. Why can't someone else do this so I don't have my life stolen?" She whined to herself. As she buried her head in her hands, she started to overhear a pair of voices over to her left.

"No way! These shades were all sold out in stores. How did you get them so easily?"

"It wasn't that big of a challenge chum. Enough money and I can get anything done." Curious, Lynn turned around the corner and saw an inkling boy talking to a small child. The child had orange skin, black spikes with colorful rings wrapping around them in the form of hair on his head, a black and white tee shirt, and a single purple eye that was also green where a normal eye should be white. Lynn felt an idea form in her mind as the inkling walked away with the sunglasses.

"Anything huh?" She smirked, eyes narrowing in on the urchin boy. She took Lily and pushed her stroller towards the boy. The monocular child glanced up at Lynn and chuckled.

"Well, haven't seen you around before. Always nice to see a new customer." He outstretched an arm and put a small smile on his baby like face. "The name is Murch." Lynn took his hand and shook it.

"Lynn Loud. I heard that you can do things for money, right?"

"That's right. I can get you some slick clothes for you if you want." Murch let out a small, mischievous chuckle. "But it isn't coming cheap." Lynn crossed her arms and scoffed.

"Clothes? I was actually willing you could do something else for me. Something that wouldn't take you any effort at all." She offered. Intrigued, Murch raised his brow as Lynn wheeled Lily into his point of view. "This is my little sister, Lily." The baby waved at Murch with a happy giggle.

"Hiiii!"

"I want you to watch her for me while I go play in my first ranked battle ever." The athletic inkling explained. Murch blinked in astonishment at the unorthodox request. His silence was short lived as he soon started to laugh at the Loud sisters in amusement. After about 10 seconds, he looked at Lynn's stern expression and stopped laughing.

"You serious?" Lynn nodded. "Listen trigger fish, baby sitting is not my usual gig. I'm a clothes man, not a nanny." Murch reasoned.

"Come on, Lily is a sweet heart and she'll be right in this stroller so she won't cause trouble." Murch hummed to himself and pondered the thought. "I'll pay a lot for you to do this. Let's say about… 50 bucks?" Murch's jaw dropped at the prospect of the cash.

"50? A ranked battle only goes for 5 minutes at max outside of over time."

"Exactly. Quite a steal eh?" Without any hesitation left, Murch jumped off the bench and went up to Lily.

"You got a deal, lady. I'll treat her like she was my own little sister." He promised. Lynn's face lit up and she turned into a squid and super jumped into the air.

"AWWWWW YEAH!" She screamed as she soared upward and landed again. She bent down to Lily in her stroller. "Don't worry, Lily. Just one game, and I'll be right back!" She vowed as she playfully poked the infant's nose. As Lynn hiked off trough the tower doors, Murch and Lily turned to face each other.

"So looks like we are hanging out for a while." He reasoned to the baby. "High five for your new playmate?" He asked with an open palm. Lily raised a hand and attempted to slap Murch's palm. However, she missed and stuck her arm right into his eye, causing the boy to scream in agony.

Lynn soon wasted no time in signing up for a ranked match and jumping into the transport tube as soon as she could. The orange ink inside stimulated her to change and adapt to it. Excitement rushed through her as she reached the tunnel's end. When she came out of the spawn point, she looked around and got a grip on her surroundings. The alleys wrapped around the whole area and lined up parallel with various small shops. There was a small grassy area underneath a center bridge suspended above it. Lynn took a deep breath as she heard her teammates appear behind her.

"The Reef. The perfect place to jump in to ranked battles."

"You bet it is." Lynn turned to face the source of the voice and was met with a girl with long hair dyed the same orange as their spawn. She wore a red tee shirt with a yellow horizontal stripe running across it and a red and white baseball cap.

"Sup, Margo! First softball, then roller derby, and now turf war." Lynn quipped as she gave her friend a playful dig in the arm.

"And it's Rainmaker of all game types. I always loved watching these types of matches." Lynn smirked as she remembered watching a couple matches of Rainmaker. She knew the goal of the match incredibly well.

"All we need to do is blitz it and splat them all well one of us takes it to their goal." Lynn turned and looked at the other members of her team, examining them and thinking of the best plan. Her eyes locked on a boy holding a Clash Blaster. "Think you can handle carrying the Rainmaker?"

"Me? Oh, sure I can handle it."

"Nice!" Lynn fist pumped as she cheered. She turned and saw one of her other teammates trembling. "What's wrong? First time in ranked too?" She asked the girl gripping her Octobrush tightly in her arms.

"No. It's just those two big guys on the other team. They look scary." Lynn glanced over to the blue spawn point across the blacktops and saw the boys in question. They were very large inklings each holding a version of the Dynamo Roller. One had dark skin with a bowl haircut covering his eyes and grinned as he hoisted the Gold Dynamo over his shoulder. The other's hair was spiked up and shaved on the sides. He smacked the regular Dynamo in his hands as he gave smug grin with a tooth missing. Lynn's eyes narrowed as she recognized them.

"Hank and Hawk!" She snarled as she readied her weapon. "Don't worry. I'll splat them as I many times as I need to!" She promised. As she made that vow, The Judds arrived and displayed the match stats.

 **ORANGE TEAM**

 _Lynn: Tentatek Splattershot_

 _Margo: Aerospray RG_

 _Chris: Clash Blaster_

 _Melissa: Octobrush_

 **BLUE TEAM**

 _Hawk: Dyanamo Roller_

 _Hank: Gold Dynamo Roller_

 _Sharp-eye: Splatcharger_

 _Felix: Mini-Splatling_

Both teams looked at the bridge in the center of the playing field and instantly found their target. A bubble of light containing a golden cannon the size of watermelon in the shape of some dragon like fish creature. "The Rainmaker." Lynn whispered to herself. A horn went off and started the match started as all the players rushed forward towards the center to grab the Rainmaker first. Lynn however, went down a side alley and went towards the other end of the stage. Margo saw Lynn go away from the group and tried to stop her.

"Lynn, wait!"

"You guys take care of the shield. You need someone to cover you!" She explained. With that, the jock sprayed the ground and swam forward until she reached the end of the narrow path. Once she got there, she jumped down into the grass patch below and climbed up a small ramp. She rolled across the ground and pressed against a wall glancing around the corner to see the entire enemy team attacking the barrier and coating it in blue ink. Among the group, she saw Hank and Hawk laughing as they flung their rollers at the shield, sending giant globs of ink onto it.

"This is too easy."

"Yeah. Those babies have anything on us." They gloated as the bubble started to grow more unstable under the amount of ink. Lynn gripped her weapon and dawned a confident, almost evil smile on her face. Then in an instant, she charged forward letting out a fierce battle cry and opened fire. Her assault was so sudden that her targets didn't have time to defend themselves as she splat the burly roller users without effort. One of the blue inklings, the one with the Mini Splattling, saw Lynn and tried to take her out. Unfortunately, she was too quick and managed to sidestep out of the way and splat him too.

Before Lynn could make a remark about her accomplishment, she hurt a loud burst and looked to see that the shield around the Rainmaker was gone and Chris had grabbed it. "Perfect. Now let's move!" Lynn cheered. The whole group did so and they moved forward towards their rivals' part of the map. The enemy with the charger saw this and decided to take action.

"Time to show them why they call me Sharp-eye!" He gloated. Sharp-eye closed his right eye and took aim with his weapon. He took a deep breath and fired at the boy holding the Rainmaker, but missed. Frustrated in his performance, Sharp-eye fired again only to miss a second time. The carrier got closer to his goal of a large hill and Sharp-eye tried to line up for another shot, but was caught off guard when an orange coated brush smacked him in the face and splatted him. Melissa laughed at her handiwork just as Hank and Hawk respawned and glared at her menacingly.

"You little chumps think you're so tough? Well let's see you do that again!" Hawk snarled.

"You got it." A confident voice replied. The two bullies looked behind them just to see Lynn splat them once more and sent their ghosts floating away. She was about to continue the pressure, but stopped dead in her tracks when she heard a whistle. Lynn turned and saw that her teammate had put the Rainmaker on top of the hill like goal, therefore winning the match. Lynn felt an odd rush of emotions overcome her as she was speechless at how quickly they won. "Huh, I thought this would've taken longer. Talk about disappointing." She laughed as her team celebrated in a chorus of cheers.

After the match, Lynn was followed back to Deca Tower by Margo, whom was as pumped as she was over their landslide victory. "That was seriously amazing!" She quipped

"I know right? They barely put up a fight. Especially those gunk heads with the rollers."

"Yeah. I bet they don't even have brains aside from just swinging those things around." The two sporty girls shared a hearty laugh over the remark. "So, you want to go for two?" Margo asked. Lynn paused for a moment and looked at the ground. After a moment, she shook her head.

"Nah. I have some other stuff to do." She explained burying her guilt. Margo blinked in response, followed by a shrug.

"Suit yourself." With that, she went back over to the registry machine to sign up for another game. Lynn sighed in relief as she went out the automatic door and back into the square. She looked over to her left and saw Murch pacing next to Lily's stroller. Not thinking much about the sight, Lynn approached the urchin kid with a smile. Not even for a moment noticing the fear in his eye.

"Hey, Murch." Murch jumped in alarm at the sound of Lynn's voice.

"Eeep! You're back already?" He asked frightened. Lynn cocked her head to the side in response to Murch's terror.

"Uh, yeah. Lily wasn't a problem for you was she?"

"Oh, no no no. She's been a sweet little angelfish." A hopeful smile graced Murch's face as a thought popped into his head. "In fact. How about you go play a couple more games? I'll keep watching her. Heck, I'll even do if for free!" He bargained. Lynn's eyes lit up for a split second before she rapidly shook her head.

"Tempting. But I'm gonna pass. If my parents found out I was away for even one game they'll kill me. I'm not pressing my luck." She walked over to the stroller and took a deep breath. "Ok Lily, I'm back. Did you miss me?" Lynn sighed as she looked down into the stroller. When she looked into the stroller, she did not see a happy baby girl looking back at her. Instead, she saw an empty seat and an unbuckled safety belt. Murch sensed the dark atmosphere closing in and tried to sneak away to another location. Unforrtunatley, he was stopped before he got far and came face to face with Lynn. The inkling had a disturbingly calm smile on her face. An ear to ear grin with no teeth showing. "Murch." She began with a sweet tone that had an acidic venom underneath it. "Where is my baby sister?" Murch cracked a very nervous smile and tried to laugh the situation off.

"You are going to laugh. See…" Murch gulped and studdered as he choked out the last of the sentence.

"I… **I lost her.** "

Three words. That's all it took to unleash the inner beast from deep within Lynn Loud. And when she heard the words, everyone knew her rage.

That much was perfectly clear.

"YOU DID WHAAAAAAAAATTTT!?" Lynn screamed as everyone started to stare at her and Murch in the square. Lynn blushed a little from embarrassment, but she did not slow down her aggression as she grabbed Murch and dragged him into an alley nearby and away from prying eyes. When the pair were out of view from the public's prying eyes, Lynn grabbed Murch by the collar if his shirt and hoisted him off the ground up to eye level. "What the shell do you mean you LOST her!?"

"I mean she's gone."

"How could you let this happen?"

"I'm sorry. The squirt wouldn't stop crying! I went to get her a snack from the vending machine and when I came back she was gone." Murch explained in a panic. Lynn's anger was not dulled by the excuse and she reeled her arm back to deliver a nasty punch to the pint sized urchin. Murch closed his eye braced himself for the impact of the trembling fist. However, in its place was a heavy sigh and a sudden drop to the ground.

"Even if I beat you into fish food, it won't bring Lily back." She moaned. Murch suppressed a whistle of happiness over his good luck as Lynn lamented her situation. "I was supposed to watch her and look where taking a shortcut got me." Lynn closed her eyes and punched a wall next to her

"Look, she's just a baby. She couldn't have gotten too far. You will find her." Murch tried to comfort. When she heard that, Lynn felt something boil inside her. A dark, almost evil expression became smeared across her face.

"No Murch. WE will find her." She growled threatingly. Murch couldn't help but break a cold sweat in response.

"I. I'm sorry… We?"

"I made a mistake for trying to dump my sister on you and get out of dodge. I'll admit that was a mistake." She began. "But that doesn't give you a free pass to just lose her out in the city. You are going to help me find her whether you like it or not."

"Hold on! You only paid me to babysit, why do I have to put my work on hold because of your screw-up?" Murch asked defensively. Lynn smirked in a dark sense of triumph.

"If I go down, I'm taking you, and your whole business with me."

"What are you talking about?"

"If people know you can't be trusted with a baby, then how can they trust you with a pair of shoes?" Murch was silent. His blood freezing solid at the prospect of everything falling apart because of one little mistake.

"You wouldn't dare."

"Try me." The two stared each other down for what seemed like ages. The silence only broken up by chatter from other people and car horns in the distance. Eventually, Murch gave in and groaned in defeat.

"Fine. Let's ask around town for clues. There has to be at least one person that's seen her!" He suggested. The unlikely duo left the alley in search of Lily. Completely unaware that they were being spied on by an inkling in a hoodie. They face palmed in an act of pity.

"Those two need more help than just random strangers. I better get lend a hand." They reasoned as they jogged away to look for the child as well.

Lynn and Murch roamed Inkopolis, asking around trying to find Lily. Lynn went inside Ammo Knights to ask Sheldon for help. "Yo Sheldon, have you seen a baby around here?" Sheldon looked up from his work and stroked his chin.

"Baby as in amazing weapon, or an actual person."

"Person. Inkling! LITTLE BABY SQUID!" Despite Lynn's chaotic scream, Sheldon remained calm as he shook his head.

"Then you're out of luck." Lynn groaned in frustration as she just left the store. Meanwhile, Murch was running up and down city streets asking as many people for help as he could.

"Have you seen a baby?" The jellyfish he asked shook his head. "Have you seen a baby?" The inkling he asked backed away as he shook his head. Growing more panicked by the second, Murch ran over to a pink and green haired anemone woman with thick glasses and practically yelled in her face. "HAVE YOU SEEN A BABY?!" The woman was startled and fumbled to answer.

"Oh, I'm… sorry I… haven't… seen anything." She replied growing quieter with each word. When she finished, another voice chimed into the conversation.

"But I have." Murch looked up to see a clownfish swimming around in the girl's hair.

"You have? You need to tell me where!"

"They're here right now. I'm looking at him!" The fish laughed at his own clever burn whilst Murch narrowed his single eye in annoyance. He cleared his throat and got the creature's attention.

"I'm an urchin dude. You want to find out if I'm venomous?" The kid asked in a threating manner. The clownfish simply stared at him before scoffing and going back inside the anemone's hair.

"You ain't worth my time." As Murch stormed away to continue his search, the girl simply stood there as a light headed feeling overtook her and she fainted from fright. An hour passed as both inkling and urchin scoured the city looking for Lily. They inquired, begged, bargained, and even the occasional threat if they thought someone was withholding info. But eventually, their spirits sank and they found themselves back in the square moping.

"That's it. We're cooked. Sautéed. Deep fried!" Lynn moaned as she buried her head in her hands. As the sport star lamented, a small beep came from Murch's phone. The kid pulled it out and checked the text message he received. As he read it, his single eye widened and joy overtook him. Murch quickly shook Lynn and got her to look up as he shoved the phone in her face. Lynn glumly looked at the text.

{ _The baby you are looking for is at Snapper Canal. You can get there quickly using the transport tube in Deca Tower that is glowing red. Hurry. The stage will enter the match rotation again in 15 minutes!_ }

Lynn gasped in shock at the fortunate turn of events. "Murch! Who sent this?"

"Don't know. For some reason it came up as anonymous." As soon as he finished, Lynn grabbed his arm and ran inside the tower as Murch was dragged along. Her eyes darted the lobby and through the various inklings, she saw a single tube glowing red. Without hesitation, she ran over to it and turned into a squid as she swam through it still holding on to Murch. Since the tube wasn't set for a match, there was no stimulant that made Lynn change color. She stayed her proffered brown as she went through the tube and emerged at the canal.

As they crawled out of the spawn pad, Murch's face turned green and he soon vomited on the ground. As he wiped the bile of his face, he gasped for air. "How do you handle going that fast through those pipes?"

"For inklings it's actually easier than you think." Lynn replied as she looked over the urban river. She hoped more than anything that the lead wasn't just a prank and that Lily was actually there. She peered down the slope they were standing on and their eyes widened when she saw Lily. The little infant was in the form of a tiny squid the same light blonde color of her hair. They were jumping on the ground gleefully as they released a plethora of giggles.

"Splashy! Splashy!" Lynn sighed in relief seeing Lily safe and happy. But that relief was short lived as she noticed that Lily was getting close to a ledge. And beneath that ledge was a deep pool of water. Terror over came Lynn as her older sibling instincts kicked in and she ran towards the baby. Getting faster and faster as Lily got closer to the edge. Both drew closer and closer together until finally Lily slipped off the side and fell down.

"LILY!" Lynn jumped forward and slid across the concrete, scrapping and tearing her shirt. Lynn's eyes were winced shut from the pain and worry. Her eyes slowly opened when she noticed the sensation of something in her hands. And to her delight, she saw Lily resting in her arms. The baby turned back into a humanoid form with a smile on her face.

"Hehe. Hi." Lynn stood up holding her sister and felt the corners of her mouth being subconsciously lifted upward into a smile.

"Ah, ha ha. Phew. That was a close call. Come on, Lily. Let's get you out of here." Lynn cheered as she went back over to the spawn point that was used to get them there. Lynn took Murch by his wrist and dragged him back down the tube to Inkopolis. Once they returned, Lynn took her little sister and put her back in the stroller as she dusted off her hands. Murch laughed nervously as he noticed Lynn's smile fade.

"Well, you found your sister. That's a happy ending if I ever saw one." Despite the positive statement, Lynn continued to stare with disapproval. "We did it…" Murch nervously cheered. His efforts were in vain as now Lily was imitating Lynn's look despite not fully understanding the situation. Eventually, Murch groaned in defeat. "Okay, I'll ask. What do I need to do to make this all go away?"

"5 months of all your regular services for free."

"Fine. It's easier on my head anyway. I'm going home." Murch spat as he stormed off. Lynn also decided to call it a day and grabbed Lily's stroller as she went down the streets back to their neighbor hood.

"Well Lily that was quite a crazy day." She sighed as Lily laughed. "I got a game in, you got an adventure, and I have Murch wrapped around my tentacles for a while." Lynn reasoned. "I didn't even have to do much for it all. I just thrust my little sister into the care of a random kid, lost her and endangered her life." The stroller started to slow and Lily's giggles faded as a couple wet drops fell on the baby's face. "I was so desperate to play a sport that I put you on the sidelines. If that text hadn't come in, then I wouldn't have you found you." The tears started to flow from Lynn's eyes look a waterfall. She started to choke on her sobs until her knees buckled and she broke down. "I'm sorry Lily. You almost died because of me. No respawn. No game. Just gone!" Lynn went to the other side of the stroller so she and Lily were facing each other. "I'm a disgrace of an inkling. And a disgrace of a sister!"

As Lynn cried, she felt a hand touch her face. She opened her eyes and saw Lily give her an innocent smile. "Ynn." She attempted saying her big sister's name. Lynn wiped her tears and gave Lily a kiss on the forehead, making the baby laugh again.

"I'm sorry, Lily. I just can't say that enough. From now on, sports come second." She asserted with a confident smile on her face.

"You have a good heart, Loud." Lynn stopped and turned to the source of the new voice. Her jaw almost hit the floor at the sight of Pearl wearing regular street clothes in place of her stage outfit on the news. "And you're welcome for the tip. Just be careful next time, ok?" Lynn was at a complete loss for words as Pearl walked away with a gentle wave.

"Pearl… Thank you…" Lynn was broken out of her trance as an unpleasant made its way into her nostrils. "Ugh, Lily!"

"He he. Poo poo!" Lily laughed as Lynn took her back home.

* * *

 **"Hello, C.Q. Cumber again. now about that last announcement. See, among the author's plans for this series, he is contemplating a story revolving around Splatfests. However, it is not only not set in stone, but Allanarcher777 does not know which Splatfest he would use. That is where you readers can have a little input for this possibility. If you decide to leave a review, feel free to suggest any Splatfest that you think would be a good one to include. it can even be fan-made! The only restrictions for ones that are real are: A. It must have happened within Splatoon 2, not the first game. And B. It can't be a tournament based Splatfest like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It has to be 1 and done."**

 **"Thanks for reading and..."**

 _ **Well, well, well. Looks like my plan worked.**_

 **"Plan? Mr. 777 what are you talking about?"**

 _ **You thought me and everyone else forgave you for the torment in Octo Expansion's challenges?**_

 **"Well, I thought that you did."**

 _ **Well... You thought wrong. It's time for some long awaited justice.**_

 **"Wait. Please. HAVE MERCY!"**

 _ **You were a jerk to everyone that played the game and lost. TEST FAILED!**_

 **"NOOOOOOO!"**

 _ **Don't worry folks... He'll live.**_


	8. Ink-vasion of privacy

_*creak*_

 **"Wow. Fancy digs here."**

 _ **Thanks for the compliment, Luna. Now, would you be so kind as to introduce this little episode?**_

 **"Sorry, dude. Not talking until you give me what you promised."**

 _ **Good head on your shoulders. Here you go, Squid Sisters concert tickets.**_

 **"And the backstage pass?"**

 **You get that after the outro.**

 _ **"**_ **Fine. Hello, luvs. Luna Loud here to thank you for supporting this story. Allanarcher and I would also like to thank the person who suggested the sweet vs savory Splatfest to be part of a potential chapter."**

 **We would give a name. But they were a guest review. We'll see you at the end of the chapter!**

* * *

Chapter 8: Ink-vasion of privacy.

In the backyard of the Loud residence, there was a large display that would certainly attract the attention of a normal person. A stage made of wood with a blank white cloth for a banner stood atop the grass. In front of it was a large audience of toys and stuffed animals facing in the direction of the stage. In-between the stage and fake crowd was a table, where Lincoln sat. "Now performing a lovely brush dance… Lola Loud!" He announced as his little sister took the stage with a smaller version of the Inkbrush slung over one arm and a pink radio held in the hand of the other. When she reached the center of the stage, she smiled and did a courtesy as she put the radio down and hit play. When she did, the stereo began to let out a gentle, slow, almost lullaby version of 'City of Color'. As the song played, Lola set the brush head on the ground and did some elegant motions that looked like a mixture of mopping a floor and waltzing.

As she danced in time with the music, the yellow ink at the end of the brush was spread across the wooden planks. The spins of Lola's technique caused the trail to loop in what around itself. Occasionally making a perfect circle every now and again. After a while, Lola turned into a squid and sunk into the ink. Her movements were fast and precise, making waves in the ink. She occasionally jumped from one side of the pool to the other, making a wink to her brother and pretend audience during one such jump. Lola took a deep breath and swam towards the center of the pool. When she reached the epicenter, she made a small whirlpool as she spun in a circle and jumped out. She took humanoid form again and held her brush over her head, preparing the grandest move in her performance.

"Lincoln! Lola!" A voice yelled out as the radio was switched off. Both Loud siblings screamed in alarm at the sudden intrusion. Lola in particular was the most startled as it threw off her focus, causing her to land in an odd position with her brush and fling her into the plush crowd. When the pageant girl got back up, she looked over to see another one of her older siblings standing beside the now quiet radio. Lola growled as she processed what happened.

"LYNN! Do you have any idea how close I was to perfecting that brush dance routine? I was about to make a flurry of color so magical I would have gotten a score beyond perfect!" She yelled. Lincoln groaned in agreement.

"Not to mention how long it took to set up the pretend audience. Build the stage. Find an Inkbrush that Lola could…" Lincoln listed off until Lynn cut him off.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about interrupting your kiddie pageant stuff. But I need your help with something big!" Lynn proclaimed. Lincoln and Lola were not amused or interested in the slightest. Lincoln pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

"Lynn, this is the last time I am going to say this. I will not stand still and act as a target for any ball, hockey puck, arrow, or Turf War weapon." He complained as frightening flashbacks of his sister's training came back to haunt him. He shuddered at the idea of being a kickboxing opponent to Lynn again.

"Lincoln, as much as it pains me to say this, this has nothing to do with sports." Lynn confessed. Her siblings were caught off guard by this revelation. It was a rarity to see Lynn make a scene about something that isn't athletic. At least on her own. Lola narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms.

"You have 3 minutes to explain yourself." She warned without relenting her icy stare. Lynn cleared her throat and prepared to speak.

"OK. I had just gotten done with a match over in The Square…"

 _2 hours ago…_

Lynn laughed as her team walked out of Deca Tower celebrating their most recent victory. "Gee Francisco, I can't believe you were able to take that many hits on the tower like that." She congratulated.

"I never would have been able to hold on if you hadn't keeping the pressure off me." Francisco replied, causing a pink blush to form on Lynn's cheeks. She was broken out of her love sick trance when her friend Margo elbowed her shoulder.

"Lynn, isn't that your little sister over there?" Lynn followed her friend's pointing finger and saw a little girl with big thick glasses and messy brown hair wearing a green sweater and pink pants that went down to her ankles.

"Yeah, that's Lisa alright." Lynn confirmed with a nod. Her gaze became more fixed on her little sister when she noticed something a little peculiar. Lisa seemed to be smiling as she looked rather enthusiastic over an envelope. As she admired the square of paper, she walked over to a red mailbox. Curious over her sister's activity, Lynn drifted away from her group of friends without even saying a word and turned into a squid to avoid being spotted. As she slid across the ground and drew closer to the little genius, Lynn could start to hear Lisa talking to herself.

"Ah, this could lead to a whole new world of possibilities for me. All because of this single letter. Hopefully the postal service can relay my message quickly enough so I can receive a reply." She hoped. With a deep breath, she put the envelope inside the mail slot and started to walk away. Lynn saw her opportunity and turned back to a humanoid form as she ran past Lisa.

"Hey, Lis! What's up?" She asked while fake panting to try and fool her sister into thinking she had been exercising. Without a change to her calm smile, Lisa turned her head slightly towards her sister.

"Greetings, athletic sibling unit. I was just out conducting some important work." She explained in her usual intelligent tone.

"What kind of work? Are you proposing some sort of theory about those weird skeletons archeologists found?" Lynn asked curiously. Lisa simply shook her head in response and waved the idea off rather quickly.

"Negative. I haven't gathered enough evidence to form a hypothesis about those so called 'humans'. Even if I had, that is not what my commute into town was related to." She explained.

"Well what IS it for?" Lynn asked eagerly. Lisa's small grin faded upon hearing the question and she adopted her usual stoic expression once more.

"Unfortunately, I'm not comfortable sharing that information at the moment." Lisa stated as she started to walk away from Lynn. The athlete was not so eager to just drop the matter so quickly.

"Come on, we are sisters. You can trust me with a secret."

"The fact you were eavesdropping on me a few seconds ago is a clear contradiction to that statement." Lynn stopped jogging as shock overtook her. She could only bring herself to make small, broken fragments of words. "The lack of perspiration on your body indicates you were not really exercising. Not to mention our encounter was in the square. You most likely spotted me after participating in a few Turf War matches, correct?" Lynn was unable to reply. The accuracy of Lisa's summary was too much to handle. "I'll take your silence as a yes. I'll see you at home." Lynn's brow furrowed and she clenched her fists in frustration.

 _Present time_

"I have to find out what Lisa's little secret is. And I want you two to help me figure it out." Lynn explained. Lincoln and Lola were a little surprised with Lynn's story and request. Lincoln crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes, sensing there was something off about his sister's proposal.

"Why are you asking for our help, specifically?" He asked cautiously.

"Because you are "The man with a plan" and have a lot of street smarts." Lynn indicated pointing at her brother. When she finished, Lynn turned and pointed at Lola. "And Lola, you are master of eavesdropping and getting dirt on people." Lola gave a smug smile and nodded in response. Taking the statement as a massive compliment. Lincoln however, was still not convinced with the whole idea.

"Sorry, Lynn. But I'm going to gave to pass on this." He said bluntly.

"What! Oh come on, Linc. Since when where you such a chicken?" Lynn mocked upset with her brother's decision.

"This isn't about acting chicken. It's just that we've all been through this routine before with snooping around or sticking noses in someone's business. Not to mention it's always led to a misunderstanding or trouble." Lincoln explained.

"Oh yeah? Name four!" Lynn challenged. Lincoln's eyes narrowed and he raised a hand to count off his fingers.

"The bathroom vent with Mom and Dad. Lola and our secret sharing sessions. Luan overhearing us vent about her nonstop jokes. Meddling with me and Ronnie Anne." The white haired inkling re-established. His tone seemed rather icy with the last example as he gave his sisters the evil eye. Before either Lincoln or Lynn could continue the debate, they were stopped by the sound of tears. They turned and saw Lola with tears forming in her eyes.

"Oh Linky, how could you be so cruel?" She asked in a dramatic tone. "Lisa is our little sister. What if this secret is something that puts her reputation in jeopardy? Or worse, her safety?" Lincoln and Lynn looked down at the ground with a somber look as Lola continued her speech. "We, as her older siblings, should find out the details. So that we shall be able to protect her from harm." Lola closed her eyes and knelt down on the ground as she finished. After a few seconds of silence, Lola's two older siblings looked up with an unamused gaze.

"Points for performance, Lola. But I'm not buying it."

"Yeah, what's the real deal, Lola?" Lola gained an evil smile as she wiped the crocodile tears from her eyes.

"This is LISA LOUD we are talking about. One of, if not the smartest inkling in the world. If this secret is juicy enough, imagine what we can get her to do for us." The pageant princess snickered as she pulled her family into a huddle. "All of our homework: GONE!" Lynn and Lincoln lit up as the idea started to click.

"She could make me the best Turf War gear this side of town!"

"Video games that Ancho-V would be jealous of!" As the fantasies flooded in, Lincoln took a deep breath. "Lola, you have changed my mind. Lynn, I'm in! Operation: "Find out Lisa's secret in hopes of getting her to do us favors in exchange for keeping quiet." is a go!" He asserted with a fist pump. Lynn laughed.

"Yes! Let's keep an eye on Lisa tomorrow and see if we can get any evidence." Lynn suggested. Her family nodded in response and went inside to wait out the rest of the day. When the sun rose the next morning, the trio rendezvous in the living room and pretended to watch TV with the rest of their family. As their other sisters watched the screen displaying an episode of 'The Dream Boat' Lincoln, Lynn, and Lola all shot each other scheming glances. Eventually, Lisa got up from her spot and walked over to the door.

"If any of you are going to need my presence, I will be out of the house to conduct various field research. Therefore, you will need to contact me via cellular phone." She explained as she opened the door and walked out. The 3 siblings grinned and sprung into action. Lynn yawned and stretched out as she stood up and walked towards the door.

"I think I'm going to leave too. There is turf out there that's begging to be covered." Lynn cheered as she went out the door as well.

"And I'm going to hit the arcade. I think they got a new one installed." Lincoln lied as he got up from the couch. Followed by Lola trailing him like a shadow.

"You're not going to some noisy, greasy arcade until you take me to get an ice cream like you promised!" She whined as the pair left the house. When they did, Lynn shot them a thumbs up and pointed down the street towards Lisa. The little genius was seemingly unaware of their plot. Lola cleared her throat and started to lecture her older siblings. "OK, the one thing you amateurs need to know is you need to be a fair distance away from your target. Close enough to keep track of them, and far enough to not get spotted." She explained as the 3 started to follow Lisa into Inkopolis. As they all walked down the city streets, Lisa stopped and shifted her gaze over towards The Reef. The 3 eavesdroppers stopped shortly after.

Lisa smiled at the sight of all the ink filled chaos below as a Tower Control match was going on in the enclosed streets. Large splashes of pink and purple burst upward amidst the buildings. "Fascinating indeed. I should take notes on this battle for further use in my research." Lisa reasoned as she pulled out a pencil and notepad and started taking notes on the whole thing. All the while her family watched. Lynn's eyes lit up as she noticed how intently Lisa was focused on the game. The frequency of the pencil scribbles made her heart swell.

"I can't believe it." She whispered as not to be heard by Lisa. "She's studying to go into to Turf War! I knew it was only a matter of time before she decided to ditch the science stuff and be a sport girl like her big sis!" Lynn bragged. Lincoln and Lola looked at her and snickered condescendingly. "What's so funny?" The athlete asked slightly offended.

"You think Lisa wants to throw away all her diplomas and books in exchange for shoulder pads and a Splattershot? That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard." Lola giggled.

"Yeah, remember the time she made a lecture on the health hazards of playing football? No way she'd willing play any sport after that kind of presentation." Lincoln chuckled as he reminisced about Lisa's infamous slideshow of statistics and pie charts that bored half the family to sleep. Lynn shook her head in disgust.

"I REFUSE to believe that a man could get that messed up from a single tackle from a quarterback." She shot back. Before they could escalate into something more extreme, Lola turned into a squid and slapped her tentacles over their mouths.

"Look alive, squids. Targets on the move!" The 6 year old updated as she turned humanoid again and pointed towards Lisa, whom had started down the sidewalk again. The group took action and followed her down into Inkopolis Square. Before they got any closer, Lincoln stopped his sisters as a thought donned on him.

"Wait. Even with all these people around, Lisa might spot us in the crowd." He reasoned.

"Well what do you suggest doing?" Lynn asked curiously. Lincoln thought for a brief moment and snapped his fingers.

"We need to turn into squids. And Lynn, change your color pigment too." They did as they were told and dropped to the ground in a cephalopod form. Lynn focused the color of her tentacles from a brown to a deep shade of blue. Her eyes darted to her brother, whom had changed into the same shade of orange as his shirt. Glancing over to the other side, she saw Lola still remained the same color as her blonde tentacle hair from before. Lola noticed the awkward stare and shook anxiously.

"What? Inklings can be yellow whenever they want." She stated bluntly. With a mere shrug, they started inching closer to Lisa, who had began talking to someone beside Ammo Knights. They couldn't tell who the person was behind their green parasol, but they assumed it was a woman due to the feminine hands and black kimono dress. After an exchange of inaudible dialogue, Lisa shook the figure's hand and walked off somewhere else. "I got this." Lola insisted as she squirmed over beside the figure.

The woman noticed the small yellow inkling beside her and giggled from behind her umbrella. "Wow. I must be a magnet for all sorts of little kids today." She joked. Lola turned humanoid and gave the woman a warm smile.

"Excuse me, mam. I was wondering what that girl from before was talking to you about. Would you mind telling me?"

"Why do you want to know so badly?" The woman asked in a belittling voice.

"Because she's my little sister. And I want to make sure that she's safe and happy." Lola replied looking at the woman with a large pair of baby doll eyes. She gazed up deeply at the older inkling and batted her eyelashes for extra effect. The woman stared at Lola for a moment before chuckling in a mischievous manner.

"Oh nice try, Little Miss Guilt-trip! But I INVENTED that trick when I was your age." In response, Lola's cuddly persona faded and she gave a nasty squint to the woman. "I'll give you points for effort, though. You almost had me with the eyelashes."

"Oh, come on! What's the big deal with her that needs to be kept so under wraps?" Lola whined. Her now spoiled attitude started to wear down the woman's patience. She turned around and had her back facing Lola.

"Look, kid. I have better things to do than to argue with you over someone else's business. So why don't you just scram and go have a tea party, ok?" Lincoln and Lynn overheard the conversation and gasped in silence at the woman's spunk to diss their little sister. Lola's anger rose and her face turned red as her emotions bubbled over in a flood of spite.

"Oh, that tears it. NO ONE tells Lola Loud to SCRAM!" She roared. She swung her leg back to prepare for a hard kick. But Lola's supposed victim raised a single hand and stopped her.

"Loud? Did you just say your last name was Loud?" The girl asked curiously. Lola's expression softened a smidge and her siblings drew closer in wonder of the stranger's knowledge. "If that's the case, then that changes a few things." She reasoned as she lifted her umbrella a bit so Lola could see her face. Her golden amber eyes and milk white hair caused Lola to lose her breath in shock.

"You… You are…" The woman put a finger to Lola's lips and made a quiet 'shush'.

"Not out in the open. Paparazzi. As a pageant star, I'm sure you understand." Lola nodded vigorously to the statement. "Now, that girl told me nothing more than to swing by the post office and see if someone to see if anything comes for her in her P.O. Box for her to pick up. But she didn't tell me why or what it was for." She explained. Lola felt a sense of intrigue with how secretive Lisa was being. The woman in front of her smirked as she saw the curiosity in Lola's eyes grow. "But she did say that she was heading over to The Shellendorf Institute Museum. Maybe you can find out some more info there?" Lola grunted at the woman's suggestion.

"Yeah, she definitely would go to a place as boring as that." Lola whistled for her siblings and signaled for them to follow her. As the group left the square, the girl in the kimono giggled.

"Agent 3 was right. Lola IS like a younger me." She reasoned.

As the group trailed Lisa to the museum, they started to wonder what the mail the woman was watching for was exactly. "If Lisa is willing to trust a complete stranger and a public mailbox to get something. It bust be something big." Lincoln reasoned. His sisters could help but wonder what it was. They soon found themselves talking about possible theories for why Lisa would have that box at her disposal.

"Maybe she's selling her inventions on the black market, and the P.O. Box is for her to collect the money."

"Or she's buying something with Mom and Dad's credit card without their permission."

"That would explain why she wants to do the bills for a chore. She's covering her tracks!" Lincoln exclaimed, making his sisters gasp. Lola soon chuckled evilly at the thought of catching Lisa red-handed.

"When we get the evidence, I'm going to enjoy every minute we spend holding it over her head!" Lola fantasized as they followed Lisa into the museum. The pristine hallways were clean and quiet as there were no battles going on there at the time. Tour groups were all shuffling through the building, examining the displays of both history and science. Lisa in particular grew fixated on a bizarrely shaped green object. The other 3 Louds watched intently as they saw Lisa take out her notepad again and started to write down information.

"What is she looking at exactly?" Lincoln asked in confusion. Lynn took a closer look at the item in the display case and after a few seconds, she snapped her fingers in realization.

"That's a Classic Bamboozler. It was used by Inklings in the Great Turf War. But after the war, it got changed so it could be used in sports." Lynn explained. Lincoln and Lola stared at Lynn in amazement over the trivia. The athlete grew uncomfortable with the stares and glanced back at them. "An athlete of my level of dedication knows more than just how to play the game." She scoffed. Lincoln tried to squint and read what Lisa was writing down. Unfortunately, it was too far away for him to read properly.

"If only we knew what she was writing in her notes." He complained. Before any of them could make another statement, a new voice chimed in and caught them off guard.

"Hey, Lincoln. Wasn't expecting to see you and your sisters here." It greeted. The Louds turned around and saw an inkling looking at them with a cheerful smile. He had dark skin and black curly hair. His big, thick glasses were a massive attention getter alongside the bright colors of his yellow and blue striped shirt. The trio panicked and pounced on the boy and put their hands over his mouth.

"Shhh. Clyde, be quiet. Lisa doesn't know that we're here!" Lincoln quickly scolded his friend. Confused by the revelation, Clyde blinked and raised an eyebrow.

"Are you trying to spy on her? Or are you trying to avoid her because of something she wants to do either to or with you?" He asked worriedly. Lynn stepped forward and patted his shoulder.

"You were right on the first one, Clyde." Just then, an idea popped into Lynn's head. "Say, do you think you could go over and ask Lisa why she is taking notes on those turf war weapons?" Lynn asked. Clyde glanced over to Lisa and gave a thumbs up. He walked over to Lisa and they entered a conversation about the matter. Lola tried leaning forward to listen in but growled in frustration.

"Why do those 2 have to be so considerate of the museum's quiet rules?" Lola groaned. They could only guess what was going on as the pair talked. At one point, Lisa said something that made Clyde gasp in alarm. Lisa nodded and the pair exchanged goodbyes. Clyde walked back over to the other Louds with a grin on his face. Lincoln cleared his throat as he walked over to his best friend.

"So Clyde, what's the scoop?"

"You guys aren't going to believe this. Turns out Lisa is here doing research to impress someone else. I think she said his name was Toni or something like that." He explained. At that moment, the others were blown away by the discovery. Lynn grabbed Clyde's shoulders and pulled him in so they met face to face.

"Do you know what this means?" Lynn asked excitedly. Lincoln and Clyde didn't quite catch on to the implication of Lynn's question. Lola on the other hand, had a toothy smile as she let out a squeal.

"Lisa. Has. A BOYFRIEND!" She screamed while whispering at the same time. Lincoln chuckled smugly as he started to put pieces together in his head.

"Well looks like at least one sister is going to know how it feels to have your privacy invaded with meddling like this." He gloated. Lola waved her arm towards the exit and signaled for her family to follow.

"Come on! We need to get home so we can ambush her and think of a bribe list." Lincoln and Lynn nodded as they followed. Lincoln stopped for a moment and turned to face Clyde again.

"I know this is kind off mean. But I still feel like I should ask if you want in?" he offered. Clyde shook his head with a small frown.

"Even if I was interested, my dads got us a pass into the new 'past relics' exhibit, and we don't want to waste it." He explained as he gestured to a pair of jellyfish waving happily. Lincoln and Clyde gave each other a wink and a thumbs-up as they went their separate ways.

Later that day, the 3 sat in the living room of their home, eagerly waiting for Lisa to return. As they sat on the couch, Lola had a pen and notebook in her hands. Writing down a list of demands for when they confronted Lisa. "So here's what I have so far: Do all our homework for 2 years. Do our chores for 2 weeks. And for me in particular, 5 months of tea parties." She listed off. Lynn laughed evilly.

"That is just nasty." The athletic inkling teased. Lincoln chuckled at the thought of never having to do actual homework for a while. He looked out the window and gasped when he saw Lisa walking up to the front door.

"She's here! Into position." Lincoln commanded. Lynn and Lola leaped off the couch and stepped in front of the door, crossing their arms and preparing a smug grin. The door opened and Lisa walked in while looking at a white envelope gripped in her hand. She barely acknowledged their presence until Lynn started talking.

"Hello, Lisa. Did ya have a nice day?" Lisa looked up from the paper with a somber expression.

"Greetings, elder siblings. My day was… rather disappointing, for lack of a better word." Lisa greeted. Lola gave off a mischievous grin and started to bounce anxiously. Her face scrunching up from excitement over the trap they had Lisa in.

"Mmmmph. I can't take it anymore. Lisa, we know your secret about Toni." She blurted out. Lisa looked up and was speechless with the revelation. Yet her expression was unchanged aside from her eyes widening.

"Oh. I suppose you spied on me earlier today to acquire this information?" Lynn stepped forward and bowed in response to Lisa's question.

"You thought you could hide something like this from us? Fat chance. Now, let's negotiate our terms to keep quiet." Lynn was about to continue with the attempt of blackmail, but Lisa raised a hand and shook her head.

"I'm afraid any and all attempts at extortion will be futile. Particularly due to my failure to appeal to them." The other 3 Louds were confused by Lisa's statement.

"Failure to appeal?"

"Indeed. I had sent them letters to showcase my intelligence, hoping they would appreciate my talent. But unfortunately, they simply did not." Lisa confessed. Her siblings' expressions shifted into a mix of surprise and sorrow. The unexpected turn of events invoked a feeling of dismay among them all. "I suppose that rejection and failure are simply part of life. If any of you have need of me, I will be trying to cope by reading some books on theoretical physics." Lisa walked past the trio and up the stairs to her room, dropping the envelope and suppressing a sniffle as turned down the hallway. Lincoln, Lynn, and Lola were all left in silence as the letter fluttered down the staircase at their feet. When it landed, Lola took her list of demands and sighed in disappointment.

"Guys, I know that we worked hard to get to the point where we could get Lisa to do what we want. But to kick someone while their down like this is too far." Lincoln and Lynn nodded in agreement. With a heavy sigh, Lincoln walked back over to the couch and sulked.

"Poor Lisa. She's so smart and talented. Why would anyone just reject her like that?" He asked. Lynn furrowed her brow and rolled up the sleeves of her shirt.

"Someone with a death wish. That's who!" She spat. Lincoln and Lola looked up in alarm. "I don't know about you 2, but I refuse to see anyone get away with messing with our little sister. I'm going to track this Toni jerk down and give him a peace of my mind." Lola soon adopted the same attitude and hopped onto the coffee table in the living room.

"Yeah, that guy is going to be seagull food when we're done with him!" Lincoln, who felt like the only one still with his sanity at the moment, jumped up off the couch and stopped his sisters' frenzy.

"Woah, hold your sea horses you 2. Not only is this a red flag, but you don't even know how to find where Toni lives." He pointed out. Lynn eye balled the letter on the floor and scooped it up.

"Easy. We'll just follow the return address on his letter." She explained. "Now let's see where he…lives." Lynn trailed off as she read the address. Her face slowly morphed from one of anger to one of shock. Her pupils shrank and her hands trembled as she slowly gave the paper to Lincoln. "You need to see this." Lynn barely managed to choke out. Lincoln was confused as he took the paper and read the address.

When he did, he gasped and his expression matched Lynn's perfectly. "Is this the same address as…?" Lynn nodded in silence to her brother's question. Lincoln felt the blood in his body start to boil and his hair color changed. The tentacles on his head turned from their usual white to a bright, burning shade of red. "I take it back." He snarled through gritted teeth. "We are doing this YOUR way!"

In the Ammo Knights weapon store, Sheldon had just finished dusting the shelves. He looked at the sparkling display and wiped his forehead with his arm. "Ahhh, spick and span!" The crab confidently celebrated. Just then, he heard the entry bell on his door ring, indicating someone had just walked in. he turned around to see Lynn, Lincoln, and Lola with aggressive looking faces. He didn't think much of it at first and greeted them with a smile. "Howdy, Lynn. I see that you brought your family for some more shopping." Sheldon felt a sense of unease build as their expressions did not change. Lynn and Lola walked over towards him.

"Eh, he. Why are you looking at me why that?" Still no response.

"What's with your brother's new hair color?"

Lola took something out from behind her back. "What's your sister going to do with that rope!?"

All 3 Louds surrounded Sheldon and the crab soon reached his limit. "DID I LEAVE THE STOVE ON!?"

In a matter of seconds, Sheldon found himself squid-piled and tied to a chair. He struggled in a violent panic as he tried to break free of his ropes. "Lynn, why are you doing this? You know stuff like this is HIGHLY illegal!" Lynn was not intimidated as she leaned in towards Sheldon's face.

"So what if it is? YOU broke a personal law of my family when you played with my sister's heart like a basket ball." She snarled. Sheldon stared at the inkling in a stupor before responding.

"WHAT!?" Sheldon screamed in confusion. His fear was followed by Lola slapping him in the face with one of her gloves.

"Don't play dumb with us, dork. She isn't even as old as you are. You know what? I'm getting my Mini Splattling!" She yelled as she proceeded to walk towards the door. When she opened it, she was surprised to see Lisa in front of her. The 4 year old gasped in horror at the sight of Sheldon being tied to the chair by her siblings.

"What are you prehistoric cephalopods doing?!" She asked in utter shock. The other 3 Louds looked at each other, then to Sheldon, and then back to Lisa. Eventually, Lynn groaned and stepped forward.

"We were going to leave you in blissful ignorance, but now that you're here, you might as well know the truth." Lynn sighed as she put a hand on her sister's shoulder. "Your pen-pal crush, Toni was actually that jerky crab over there!" She explained. "We came here to get some payback and defend your honor." Lynn asserted as she pounded a fist into her other hand. Lisa simply stood there in awe at the explanation presented to her.

Eventually, Lisa raised an arm and coughed into her hand. "Normally, I am immune to trivial emotions. But in this case…" Lisa began before bursting into hysterics. The laughter she gave off filled the whole store and caused everyone to grow incredibly confused. Lincoln was so befuddled by the development that his hair changed back to its usual white color. As Lisa gasped for air in between laughs, she started to speak again. "You really thought… tee hee… that my secret was a boyfriend? Ha ha!" Lisa laughed. Eventually, her giggling subsided and she resumed her usual stoic behavior, albeit with a small grin. "Toni isn't a person. It's a company!"

Lisa's siblings were shocked by the sudden revelation that transpired. Lynn looked down at her feet and noticed a small, familiar logo on the tongues of her sneakers. "Wait, is this company actually the product line Toni Kensa?" She asked in bewilderment. Lisa nodded in confirmation.

"The very same. As for why I was getting into contact with them, I wanted to expand my horizons and sought after a challenge. Designing new turf war weapons was the fruit I managed to pull from the symbolic vine." The prodigy inkling explained. Lincoln scratched his head still trying to connect the dots in the situation.

"Well if it was meant to be for Toni Kensa, why did the letter have Sheldon's store as the return address?" Lola followed up with another question alongside her brother's.

"Yeah? And why were you being so secretive? This doesn't really seem all that big now that it's in the open." Lisa snickered in response.

"It was because I feared heavy involvement and interference such as this. Especially from Lynn, who despite having massive potential for being a beta tester, would most likely try and tamper with my designs. So I had Sheldon cooperate with me to help design the weapons and act as a midway point for the response letters." Lynn blushed in embarrassment from the explanation. That embarrassment was soon followed by a sense of guilt over blowing the whole thing out of proportion and proving Lisa right.

"Look, Lis…" Lisa stopped Lynn mid apology as her smile faded.

"Your attempts at reconcile are not really going to be effective at the moment." She coldly replied. "But rest assured, I will forgive you in time. Especially since holding a grudge would be pointless as you are already about to receive the consequences of your decisions." As she stated that fact, Lisa pointed behind her siblings towards the still tied up Sheldon. Their blood went cold as they saw Sheldon's unhappy demeanor.

"Untie me. Now." He spat as all his patience had run out. The Louds wasted no time in undoing Sheldon's restraints. When he was free of the chair, he looked at 3 of the 4 siblings with a glare of contempt. "No words can describe how crazy your choices today have been. I should tell your parents… No, THE POLICE about what happened here today!" His words caused a tense air to fill the room as everyone shook in fear. Even Lynn was overcome with terror. "However…" He trailed off, causing the inklings' shaking to slowdown. "Since you are just kids, Lynn is my best customer, and you only went this far to protect your sister… I'll let this slide if you do me a favor." He offered.

Lynn's face lit up as she rushed over and shook Sheldon's hand. "Oh, thanks Sheldon. You're the best!"

…

"This is the worst." Lynn groaned as she, Lincoln, and Lola were all dressed up in cartoony crab costumes and had their faces covered in camouflage war paint. The 3 siblings were tasked with handing out advertising fliers for Sheldon's store for a whole day. Lola groaned in frustration.

"All that work to try and get some work out of Lisa, but now we're the ones doing all the stupid labor." She complained.

"Karma stinks, doesn't it?" Lincoln retorted. As they went around, handing out fliers, Luan came by with a smile on her face. She noticed her family wearing the suits and couldn't help herself.

"Hey guys, you look awfully _crabby_ today." She joked, causing her family to growl. Luan's smile turned to that of a serious, straight face. "But seriously, what's with the costumes?" Lynn looked up from the ground and saw Lisa sitting on a bench reading a book. She looked up and gave a smug wave.

"I don't want to talk about it.

* * *

 ** _"_ Well, I hope that my fam learned a lesson about assuming and butting in others' business."**

 _ **Uh... yeah.**_

 **"Dude. What's with that face your making?"**

 _ **Nothing. Just... take the VIP pass and leave.**_

 **"Okay... Thanks."**

 _ **...**_

 _ **If your wondering why Luna is such a big Squid Sisters fan and wanted to get a pass to their concert instead of Mick Swagger like her canon, human counterpart, check out "inkling's first concert" for some background information on the matter. Ugh... I swear, I don't care what universe or timeline I'm observing. If they do this song and dance 1 more time, I'm gonna scream.**_

 _ **Oh, and this probably goes without saying... But kids, NEVER DO WHAT LYNN, LINCOLN, AND LOLA DID TO SHELDON! It's mean. Wrong. And a just a very serious crime that YOU WILL go to jail for! If you ever find yourself in a situation where you need to confront someone else, seek help from an adult like a parent, guardian, or police officer. ;)**_


End file.
